This is Part 4 of “Unsettled Ground,” a collaboration between The Pulp and the University of Montana Public History Program. This exhibit traces the story of mobile homes in Missoula through law and policy, charting the evolution of regulations, zoning, and tenant-landlord laws related to trailers and mobile home parks. Find the other parts of this reporting project here.
Like any other kind of home, mobile homes have a set of policies, laws, and ordinances that have to be followed in order to be built and to operate. From zoning to sanitation to tenant-landlord laws, mobile homes and parks are affected by the rules and rulings made at every level of government. These laws and policies are part of what Jim McGrath, former director of the Missoula Housing Authority, calls the “political economy of land”: the way zoning, land use, housing policy, and economic interests are intertwined. These policies both shape and reflect perceptions of mobile homes.
In the timeline below, we trace the national, state and local policies that have shaped mobile homes and trailer parks, from the early 1900s to the present.
View the full-size timeline here.
Previous: Part 3: A mobile life | Next: Part 5: Owning and organizing
