Singlewide

Sonya Salamon is Professor Emerita of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is the author of Prairie Patrimony and Newcomers to Old Towns. Katherine MacTavish is Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Science at Oregon State University.

The book realistically portrays trailer living in each unique area chosen by the authors.(Pasatiempo) The authors discuss four research questions involving the lasting effects on a family from living in a trailer park, financial payoffs, sense of belonging in a community, and the possibility that children and youth can improve their life chances. They also summarize the role of mobile home manufacturers, dealers, financers, park operators, and nearby communities.(Choice) Singlewide provides a rich and valuable picture of mobile-home park life, and the lessons learned spread well beyond these contexts. Scholars of poverty, housing, exploitation, families and communities, and child development will have much to gain from this important work.(Journal of Children and Poverty) This book addresses an important aspect of rural communities that have been understudied. Its strength is the in-depth stories drawn from the field studies that detail how families enter into trailer park living, and more importantly, how they become trapped there. It also effectively demonstrates how the stigmatized rural landscapes of trailer parks can impact youth opportunities and social networks.... This book represents a welcome exploration of mobile home park communities, and scholars who focus on a wide array of rural issues will find it interesting and useful.(Social & Cultural Geography) Singlewide provides a thoughtful sample of the millions of families living and raising children in rural or small-town mobile home parks.(Planning) Singlewide is an excellent addition to the rural sociology literature because it provides a rich account of the role of trailer parks in rural areas and of low-income households' housing strategies.... This book is enjoyable to read since it is well researched, well written, and well organized. Beyond rural scholars interested in housing and the wider topics mentioned above, this book should be suitable for many audiences. In particular, it should be approachable for undergraduate students and could be useful in a class on poverty or even in an introduction to sociology class to illustrate social mobility and structure versus agency. This book could also be useful in a graduate research methods seminar because it is a good example of approachable yet rigorous scholarship that draws on multiple data sources and types. Last, with a chapter focused on implications and recommendations, this book should be of interest to housing advocates, service providers, and policy makers.(Rural Sociology) Singlewide blazes a trail for future researchers to follow, opening our eyes to the limited housing options available in rural America.(American Journal of Sociology) This extensive study addresses a largely neglected subject and provides an important contribution to our understanding of class and place in America. Recommended for scholars in community, family, and policy studies.(Contemporary Sociology)

• Introduction1. The Mobile Home Industrial Complex2. Making Ends Meet3. The Illinois Park4. The North Carolina Parks5. The New Mexico Parks6. Youth and Trailer-Park Life7. Reforming the Mobile Home Industrial ComplexConclusionAcknowledgmentsAppendix AAppendix BNotesBibliographyIndex