Emma, NC

Housing | 2025

Analyzed 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 was already facing housing pressures, including gentrification, increased housing costs, and the loss of affordable housing options like mobile home parks. Community organization PODER Emma created actionable data infrastructure rooted in residents’ experiences to track how neighborhood housing trends affect the neighborhood’s affordability and stability.

For this project, PODER Emma expanded efforts to collect qualitative and quantitative data from other residents regarding their housing experiences. Training 22 community researchers to design and conduct surveys, PODER Emma collaborated to develop and field a door-to-door survey of mobile home residents. More than 200 participated, sharing about the conditions of their homes and the resources they needed to repair and preserve their housing. Among their findings, the researchers learned that mobile home skirting was the top issue for residents, followed by the conditions of floors, windows and doors, and insulation. While the survey was underway, PODER Emma aggregated local data to produce a tool showing vacant land parcels. This data tool allows stakeholders to identify land parcels for future affordable housing development, building a foundation for future collaboration and partnerships.

PODER Emma presented survey results and the data tool at community meetings where Emma residents brainstormed solutions to housing needs identified in the survey. On the basis of these discussions, PODER Emma developed a community-led action plan that presents strategies for future advocacy and policy recommendations to preserve existing affordability and protect against displacement pressures. Key findings from the data analyses and these sessions will be compiled into community reports and briefs to be distributed to local stakeholders. With the data infrastructure created in this project, PODER Emma helped local residents and advocates collect new data, identify displacement pressures, and inform strategic planning. Together, residents and advocates will use these findings to support interventions that will protect Emma’s affordable housing and preserve its mobile home communities, preventing the displacement of longtime residents.