The Future of Manufactured Housing

Kimberly Vermeer, Josephine Louie

In the 1930s and 1940s, mobile homes were viewed as recreational housing and were indeed highly mobile. The original intention of manufacturers was to provide temporary, recreational housing to households with mobile lifestyles and temporary housing needs. Many units were used as permanent homes, however, even as the units remained mobile. Housing shortages after World War II increased the use of mobile homes as permanent housing. Families often moved these units from camp to camp as employment and whimsy led, keeping the wheels and axles in place for easy transport…