A House, But Not a Home

If you've ever driven through the mountains or coast of North Carolina, you may have been taken aback by the breathtaking scenery and the crisp air. But dotting the otherwise perfect landscape are thousands of "mobile villages" that give a glimpse into the crumbling economies of the former factory and farming towns. Why is it these prefabbed mobile homes act as beacons of poverty, announcing themselves at a single glance?

The money:
When you leave the major cities in NC, the average income goes down exponentially. Raleigh and Charlotte make between $25,000-27,000 per year (both cities place in the top 86% for highest average incomes), creating an immense gap between the smaller towns and the cities. My home town of Wendell, for instance, is just outside of Raleigh and has an annual per capita income of $17,772. Higher earning jobs are confined to the cities, just as it is in most of the US. However, this creates such a financial barrier that to stay in the rural areas is accepting a life that won't ever be lived with the basic comfort of financial stability. 25% of North Carolina towns make at or below the poverty line for a 2-person household (this doesn't even account for families with children), and most of these towns are in the mountains, the southern tip, or near the coast.


What does it mean?
I use trailers as a tracer for poverty, considering the majority of houses in these areas are prefabricated, and they serve as an easy indicator of collective financial struggle. They carry with them a stigma of lack intelligence, motivation, and overall care for those who inhabit them, and that's nothing new; This isn't accurate, but still remains a prevailing stereotype. Many people in rural areas choose to stay in those areas simply because they were raised there, and this only continues to perpetuate the failing rural economies.


Turning it around:
How would one go about changing the overall outlook of hundreds of thousands of struggling families? Aside from improving their financial status, relieving the associated stigma of their living spaces seems the most efficient means possible. Mobile home designs have remained nearly unchanged since their creation, and when the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" method fails, it's probably time to fix it.
The average mobile home ranges between $25,000-$50,000 new, and with the changes in manufacturing, materials, and building styles, the cost doesn't match the product. It would be possible to manufacture a more efficient and modern on the inside and outside. Creating a living space should be more than creating a shelter, it should be a home, and it should make a statement. Inhabitants of a home that represents a certain lifestyle and mindset will typically carry out that perceived lifestyle and mindset, and over the course of the next few months I will be modifying some designs I've been working on to help correct that, and, with time, help turn something previously viewed as an eyesore ino something beautiful.