Affordable housing for the new economy

Katrina Cottages gain interest

Wendy Natt, May 06, 09.

One of the most notable efforts to provide emergency housing and rebuild devastated residential neighborhoods in the wake of Hurricane Katrina is now serving as a model for building affordable housing in communities throughout the country, according to a PlaceMakers article.

The Cottage Square neighborhood is a transit-oriented, mixed-use infill development located a half-mile from the historic downtown center of Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Architect Bruce Tolar - one of the original members of the Mississippi Renewal Forum team - along with a development team created the affordable housing mixed-use neighborhood which contains over a dozen compact but sturdy homes and businesses built by both the Katrina Cottage and Mississippi Cottage projects.

Some planning officials and affordable housing groups are taking notice of the Cottage Square development and are looking for ways to adapt the model to the needs of other communities, particularly those in need of permanent, affordable housing, according to the article.

In a recent interview with Governing magazine, Tolar explains how the waves of home foreclosures and housing market crash have caused him to view these modest but reliable homes in a new light as well:

“First, I thought it was a better, more humane way to provide recovery assistance after a disaster. But really, it may be the recovery housing for the new economy. Maybe it’s the home we can all afford. When people ask me why I spend so much time on these cottages, I say it’s because I may be living in one.”