November 08, 2009
UTNE READER

Trashing Trailer Parks

September 13, 2002
Julie Madsen 
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Trashing Trailer Parks,

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Jesse Walker, Reason Online
The prejudice behind the image of the 'white trash trailer park' goes beyond the parodies that we see on TV and movie screens. Jesse Walker in Reason Online discusses the roots of the idea of trailer parks as crime-ridden eyesores, and notes that 'Lately, the war on manufactured housing has been stepped up. If the local sheriff isn't pushing to evict a park, developers may be itching to build something more conventionally attractive -- and profitable -- on the land.' Shutting down trailer parks has usually been an easy task, supported by prevailing beliefs that they are ugly, house the 'wrong' people, and pay 'insufficient taxes,' Walker writes. 'Even the last charge is invalid,' he argues. 'Trailer parks often save governments money, by taking on the costs of sewage, water, trash collection, and road maintenance. Yet the foul reputation remains.'
--Julie Madsen
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