Katrina Cottages are small residential shelters designed and marketed in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in the wake of Hurricane Katrina (August 2005). They were designed as a response to the inadequacies of the trailers issued to flood victims by the

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...

(FEMA). The homes' designs attempt to fulfill the needs of their occupants in a more permanent and humane manner, while addressing the challenges of building and protecting a home in the Gulf Coast region, particularly in southern

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

where much of the land currently used is below sea level and protected by levees. The cottages are also common in parts of storm surge damaged coastal

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

. Though designs may vary, the main aesthetic criterion is that Katrina Cottages resemble traditional homes in the area in appearance, scaled-down in size to reduce costs and ease construction so that multiple units can be built quickly as needed. The best-known of these designs are those by

Marianne Cusato Marianne Cusato is a designer, educator, author, and urban designer based in Miami, Florida. She was the designer of the "Katrina Cottage," conceived in 2005 as an alternative to the FEMA emergency trailers supplied to some of the newly homeless ...

, whose original "Katrina Cottage" made the term popular and received in 2006 the first annual People's Design Award from the Cooper-Hewitt Museum of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

. As Cusato's design and others gained increasing media attention, the number of designs has increased, as has interest in smaller dwellings as a whole. Home improvement retailer Lowe's offered pre-packaged Katrina Cottage kits, including plans and all materials needed for construction. A

FEMA The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...

pilot program accommodating 900 Mississippi coast families encountered strong opposition from local government officials opposed to permanent small housing units, fearing they would lower property values. On the other hand, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour urged local officials to accept the cottages as safer than trailers.Jarvie, Jennie. "Post-Katrina cottages get a lukewarm welcome," Los Angeles Times, 16 Dec. 2007, accessed 6 July 2011
/ref> Initially offered through Lowe's stores in

and

, in 2008 Lowe's began offering the cottages at all of its stores nationwide.Alter, Lloyd. "Katrina Cottages Rolled out by Lowes Nationwide," Treehugger, 6 June 2008, accessed 6 July 2011
/ref> However, although initially "hailed as the new Sears & Roebuck house,""Select a Plan," Cusato Cottages, accessed 6 July 2011
by mid-2011 Lowe's had discontinued its product line."The Katrina Cottage Plans are no longer available at Lowe's," Lowes.com, accessed 6 July 2011
/ref>

References

{{reflist

External links

"The house that Katrina built" St. Petersburg Times January 28, 2006

"The little house that roared" San Francisco Chronicle March 4, 2006

"Lowe’s Makes Katrina Cottages Available for Purchase" Architectural Record Digest November 3, 2006

"Katrina Cottages site hosted by some of the Katrina Cottage pioneers"
House types Housing in the United States Hurricane Katrina disaster relief

See also

References

External links