KEY TAKEAWAYS:

FEMA funded $75M to build Katrina Cottages as storm housing.

461 units were built, but many sat unoccupied for years.

Audits found high costs, construction flaws, and limited long-term value.

Legacy remains mixed: stability for some, but no scalable solution.

Two decades after Hurricane Katrina, the rows of pastel “Katrina Cottages” scattered across Louisiana still stand as reminders of both government ambition and bureaucratic missteps.

In 2006, the Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded Louisiana nearly $75 million to build more durable alternatives to the infamous FEMA trailers that became a symbol of post-storm misery. The program, part of FEMA’s $400 million Alternative Housing Pilot Program, aimed to provide hurricane survivors with safe, elevated cottages

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