The Affordable Communities Project

Seeking Housing Affordability and Community on the Palouse and Beyond

The Affordable Communities Project

The Affordable Communities Project started with research with residents in Syringa Mobile Home Park, who faced water contamination then involuntary relocation as a result of community closure in June 2018. In 2024 Dr. Leontina Hormel’s book Trailer Park America: Reimagining Working-Class Communities, which includes a Foreword chapter written by grassroots community activist and University of Idaho alumna Dawn Tachell, was published.

This website is a culmination of resources collected from Syringa’s experiences and the ongoing dilemmas of shrinking housing affordability and access to living within sustainable communities. This site is built for those who wish to learn with these resources and to collaborate toward solutions to these social issues affecting Idaho, the Northwest, and beyond.

The Affordable Communities Project presents research surrounding housing crises and ideas for securing affordable, stable, and healthy communities in Moscow, the state of Idaho, across the country, and globally. It is meant to offer resources for studying threats to working-class communities and the different forms of housing that are imagined for addressing housing scarcity for families.

People

Dr. Leontina Hormel

Dr. Leontina Hormel

Principal Investigator (2015 - present)

Dr. Leontina Hormel is a professor of sociology at the University of Idaho. She is a community research, who worked with Syringa residents, 2015-2019, and continues to work with local mobile home communities in the region. She is committed to helping students and the public access resources for understanding and helping people and communities facing challenges to housing and community security.

Parya Poosti

Parya Poosti

Web Developer (Spring 2024)

Parya Poosti started her studies at University of Idaho in 2023. She helped with the interactive design of this website in Spring 2024, including creating the student blog element.

Denessy Rodriguez

Denessy Rodriguez

Lab Assistant (2016-2019)

Denessy Rodriguez is a former undergraduate student at the University of Idaho. She majored in sociology-inequalities & globalization, with minors in psychology and women, gender, & sexuality studies. From 2017-2019, she worked as a research assistant with Leontina and Syringa residents and developed the core materials for this website.

Cynthia Ballesteros

Cynthia Ballesteros

Lab Assistant (2016-2018)

Cynthia Ballesteros was born and raised in Nampa, Idaho. She attended the University of Idaho between 2013-2018 and majored in sociology. Cynthia worked as a research assistant with Leontina and Syringa residents from 2017-2018.

Other Collaborators