Emma, NC

Housing | 2025

Analyzing local housing conditions to advocate for policy solutions that promote housing stability and affordability.

The aftermath of Hurricane Helene has increased urgency, competition for resources, vulnerability, and risk of displacement for the longtime residents of Emma, a predominantly Latinx neighborhood in Buncombe County, North Carolina. Emma, located outside Asheville, was already facing housing pressures including gentrification, increased housing costs, and the loss of affordable housing options like mobile home parks. PODER Emma, fiscally sponsored by Colaborativa La Milpa, is looking to create data infrastructure that is actionable and rooted in residents’ experiences in order to track how neighborhood housing trends impact affordability and stability for Emma residents.

For this project, PODER Emma, a community organization of Emma residents, will continue efforts to collect qualitative and quantitative data from residents regarding their housing experiences. PODER Emma will supplement these data with analyses of property and land records to monitor trends in the housing market along with data from the US Census Bureau on the economic and demographic context of the area. The data will be used to develop a public tool for use in community-interpretation sessions, through which residents can analyze and interpret the data collaboratively. Key findings from the data analyses and these sessions will be compiled into community reports and briefs to be distributed to local stakeholders. PODER Emma will also develop a community-led action plan that will lay out strategies for future advocacy and policy recommendations from the community to preserve existing affordability and protect against displacement pressures.

With the data infrastructure created in this project, Emma residents and PODER Emma will be able to identify displacement pressures, inform strategic planning, and advocate for interventions to protect the neighborhood’s affordable housing and preserve its mobile home communities to prevent the displacement of longtime residents.