Mississippi Cottages Are Too Nice

Lori Waselchuk for The New York Times

Object lesson on why this never ends: FEMA gets it right, and is testing the "Mississippi Cottages" offered by Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), which the New York Times describes as having "tin roofs, small porches and are colored like Easter eggs — rose-hip pink, malted mint, cloudless blue. The cottages are on wheels, but the larger models can be put on permanent foundations. All are equipped with appliances, beds, a table and chairs, ceiling fans, even pots and pans, and cost an average of $32,000 apiece to build." People love them.

But guess what? Local municipalities are resisting them." They fear people who get cottages will simply live in them and not rebuild their houses, said Mike Womack, executive director of the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

“They’re too nice,” he said. “I’ve heard this over and over again.” ::New York Times

UPDATE: Information on the Mississippi Alternative Housing Program which provides the cottages.