Flood Risk for Manufactured Home Communities
An assessment of flood risk for Manufactured Home Communities (MHC) in Vermont was completed in June 2023 mere days before heavy rains displaced residents in many towns. The work collected and analyzed flood risk data statewide and initiated community discussions about flood risks and opportunities.
- The draft report is available here.
- Maps of flood risk for each assessed MHC is available through the Flood Ready Expanded Community Report.
- GIS Spatial Data from the assessment is posted at the VCGI Open Geodata Portal: geodata.vermont.gov
The Vermont Manufactured Home Communities Flood Risk Assessment was led by University of Vermont faculty Kelly Hamshaw, Daniel Baker, and Miranda Degreenia with the Department of Community Development and Applied Economics. Spatial data was acquired and analyzed by Jarlath O’Neil-Dunne and David Erickson with the UVM Spatial Analysis Lab. CVOEO, the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, a statewide manufactured home community advocacy organization, was critical to listening sessions with MHC residents. CVOEO staff Ryan Gerrity, Rebecca Dibble, & Sandrine Kibuey with the Mobile Home Program, were key partners in this work. Special thanks to Scott Hamshaw for providing key guidance for the mapping analysis component following up from work in 2012 and 2013.
Kelly Hamshaw and the collaborating team express gratitude to the residents who participated in the community workshops – sharing their experiences, perspectives, and concerns for their homes and communities. Their contributions during this assessment work will inform future efforts for deeper engagement with manufactured housing communities going forward.
The report notes that manufactured home communities are a critical source of affordable housing for over 7,000 Vermont households. The Vermont Department of Housing’s Mobile Home Park 2022 Registry lists 238 MHCs across the state. Most homes are owned by individual residents who lease the land upon which their homes sit from a park owner. The majority of MHCs are owned by private landlords, with 20% of communities owned by non-profit housing organizations and another 7% resident-owned cooperatives.
