This mixed-use development culminated a post-Hurricane Katrina experiment in emergency housing intended to replace “FEMA trailers”—mobile homes placed in homeowners’ driveways or in improvised trailer parks—with vernacular cottages. The idea emerged in October 2005 at the Mississippi Renewal Forum, where design teams, led by Miami-based Andrés Duany, envisioned a manufactured shotgun house or bungalow that could be easily transported and form sustainable neighborhoods after the emergency passed. A prototype “Katrina cottage,” designed by Miami architect Marianne Cusato, was modified by Jackson architect Michael Barranco (1962–2011), unveiled at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds in January 2006, and later displayed in Ocean Springs. Its shotgun plan covers only three hundred square feet, but its front-gabled roof, full-width front porch, generous windows, and detailing are compatible with traditional small-scale coastal neighborhoods. Ocean Springs architect Bruce Tolar expanded the selection of small houses to include two- and three-bedroom models.