In popular culture, trailer parks are frequently stigmatized as places where only the trashiest Americans would choose to live. In reality, however, they are one of the few viable living options for working-class families in the midst of a nationwide affordable housing shortage. Trailer parks can provide a supportive community for marginalized Americans--but what happens when a trailer park is forced to close? Trailer Park America offers a detailed study of one such case, when the Syringa Mobile Home Park in rural northern Idaho suffered a sewage contamination, resulting in residents' water being shut off for over three months, eventually leading to the park's closure. Sociologist Leontina Hormel puts a human face on residents who local authorities largely viewed as a nuisance--the single-mother households, veterans, recovering addicts, and people with disabilities who were forced to either relocate or face homelessness. Yet she also shows how these marginalized people fought back, defending the rights and dignity of residents, negotiating with local government, and filing a class-action lawsuit that reached the federal courts. In the trailer park, she finds not only stories of adversity but also hope for Americans from different backgrounds to rally together and battle against an unfair system.
Trailer Park America : Reimagining Working-Class Communities