JAE RHIM LEE

MIT FEMA Trailer Project, 2007-2009

In the fall of 2005, FEMA (the US Federal Emergency Management Agency) purchased approximately 145,000 travel trailers and mobile homes to house Gulf Coast residents displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  Since their deployment, the trailers have been tied to a host of issues, including:

* health concerns due to formaldehyde off-gassing in the trailers (at the center of a class-action lawsuit against FEMA and trailer manufacturers)
* spikes in documented mental health problems in residents of trailer parks
* the lack of affordable housing in many regions of the Gulf Coast available to residents moving out of trailers
* thousands of idle surplus trailers currently sitting in rented parking lots across the country.

As a result, FEMA Trailers have come to symbolize many of the environmental, social, economic, and administrative challenges associated with temporary disaster housing.

MIT FEMA Trailer Timeline

The MIT FEMA Trailer Project’s goal was to examine the historical, political, and environmental issues surrounding the trailers and develop an appropriate proposal for the deployment of the surplus trailers.

MIT students, faculty and staff, guided by founder and project director Jae Rhim Lee, researched and developed a timeline of the trailer’s history, developed modest proposals for creative re-use of the trailers, and transformed a single surplus trailer into a mobile composting vehicle with a vertical community garden and indoor permaculture library.

The transformed FEMA Trailer, dubbed the “Armadillo” for its rear hatch shell, embarked on a month-long national tour and was donated to Side Streets Projects, a non-profit organization in Pasadena, CA, where it serves as a mobile education site.

MIT FEMA Trailer Project Team Members:
Gina Badger, G’10
Ute Meta Bauer, Assoc. Professor and Director, MIT Visual Arts Program
Caitlin Berrigan, G’09 (Teaching Assistant)
Maryann Chu, UG ’08 (UROP)
Allison Dee, UG ’09 (UROP)
Colin Kerr, G’08
Samuel Kronick, UG ’10
Jae Rhim Lee, Visiting Lecturer
Charlie Mathis, Staff
Luke Mooney, UG ’10
Gena Peditto, G’07 (Project Manager)
Jason Rockwood, G’09
Lisa Schlect, UG ’10 (UROP)
Jegan Vincent De Paul, G’09
Alyssa Wright, MAS ’08
Mike Shafran
Priyanka Shah, G’08
Christopher Taylor, G’09
Tarick T. Walton, UG ’11 (UROP, Proj. Coordinator)
Kari Williams, UG ’11
Lucille Ynosencio, G’09

Thank you:
Paul Guerino, State Surplus Property Coordinator, MA State Surplus Property Office
Jim Harrington, MIT School of Architecture and Planning
Lars Hasselblad Torres, MIT Public Service Center
Lisa Hickler, MIT Visual Arts Program
Ed Halligan, MIT Visual Arts Program
Diane McLaughlin, MIT School of Architecture and Planning
Mike Mittelman, Center for Advanced Visual Studies, MIT Visual Arts Program
Meg Rotzel, Center for Advanced Visual Studies
Adele Santos, MIT School of Architecture and Planning
Sally Susnowitz, MIT Public Service Center

Funding:
Support for this project was provided by:
MIT School of Architecture and Planning
MIT Department of Architecture
MIT Visual Arts Program
MIT Public Service Center
Council of the Arts at MIT