In 2005 a trailer slated for the dump was transported to Mapleton Mobile Home Park and renovated there. After completion in 2008, the remodeled 麻豆影院 home went on sale for $40,000 in an area where the median sale price of homes now tops $1.5 million.

The 570-square-foot home features solid oak hardwood floors, high ceilings that run from 9 to 11 feet, a clerestory (a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level to admit light, while maintaining privacy) and a front porch.

"I saw the potential right away," said Tom Sundro Lewis, a professional photographer and former licensed contractor who purchased the home in 2008. "I really felt like the place was made for me. I still feel that way."

CU 麻豆影院 and its partners pursued the "TrailerWrap" (TW) remodeling project as an experiment in rehabilitating a deteriorating manufactured home (MH), with the idea that such renovations could be replicated by others. Since the 1950s, manufactured homes (previously called mobile homes) have been mass produced to provide low-cost housing; however unimaginative design combined with inefficient energy strategies and poor construction techniques made these homes difficult to maintain, often leading to disrepair and abandonment.

The TW remodeling project was a collaboration between Thistle Community Housing; tradesmen from CU 麻豆影院鈥檚 Department of Facilities Management; an interdisciplinary team of faculty and students from the university鈥檚 College of Architecture and Planning; and the Children, Youth and Environments Center (now the Community Engagement, Design and Research Center (CEDaR), which originated the idea for the TW project.  

Obstacles and challenges
Willem van Vliet, CEDaR fellow and professor emeritus in CU 麻豆影院鈥檚 Program in Environmental Design (ENVD), initiated the project with Michael Hughes, then an ENVD instructor. Van Vliet wrote grant applications and coordinated between college administrators, teaching faculty and the Mapleton Home Owner鈥檚 Association. 

Van Vliet noted that there were many challenges  during construction. Students had difficulties getting academic credit for their work; obtaining grants to fund the project presented continual challenges; continuity lacked with three different instructors leading the project over the course of the renovations; and a series of unforeseen events caused set backs, including a sewer line that backed up in the unit, necessitating replacement of many installed components, and a heavy branch which fell on and destroyed the roof after the unit was nearly completed.

But he also noted that there were many successes around creating the affordable and award-winning home. More than 50 students gained a valuable learning experience; ENVD gained positive publicity; and the project held lessons for future project-based learning, including an upcoming CEDaR-led manufactured home renovation.

Portions of the home were purposely not completed to allow the buyer to personalize it. Lewis estimates he put more than $100,000 into the home, including the unit's initial cost, his own labor, the impact-resistant roof he installed, and various upgrades, including the furnace and other appliances. 

While Lewis says the unit in its current state of remodel would not be affordable for low-income residents, the home worked for him because he could perform his own renovations.

"I didn鈥檛 want to rent a tiny postage stamp of an apartment," Lewis said. "I could have bought a condo, but it would have taken every penny I had. And I could have moved out of town."

A quality home
Lewis says he "loves" the layout, kitchen, high ceiling, hardwood floors and the front porch, which in the summer, functions like a room because of its two walls.  He also loves the living room, which also serves as his dining room and office as well as his photography, yoga and dance studio. 

"I get lots of compliments about the interior," Lewis said. "Four out of every five people who come here for the first time exclaim, 'Wow! This place doesn鈥檛 feel small at all.' And it doesn鈥檛 because of the high ceiling. If you imagine an 8-foot ceiling, like old trailers, it鈥檚 just a completely different experience, a completely different space.

"I really mean it when I tell you this place is perfect for me. I love it that it is not any bigger. Because being as small as it is, it makes it much more economical to heat in the winter. It鈥檚 easier to clean. And I live right in the middle of 麻豆影院. I can walk to Whole Foods. I can walk downtown. I can walk to McGuckins (hardware store). And I pay like a third of the going cost to rent or buy a place like mine."

CEDaR plans to begin its second rmanufactured home remodel project this fall, also within Mapleton Mobile Home Park. The start date will depend on the state of the pandemic.

Understand that land rents in privately-owned parks can increase annually as much as $40 per month or more. 

Before purchasing a home, ask residents about their relationship with their park's owner. Some owners can be difficult to work with.

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奥丑别苍鈥�&苍产蝉辫;(GUB) began in 2009, its goal was to empower鈥痽oung people to influence the local issues which affected their lives. For the past 12 years the program was a part of CU 麻豆影院's鈥� Community Engagement, Design and Research鈥� (CEDaR) Center. Now one of the most鈥痵uccessful child-friendly city initiatives in the world, it's being spun off as an independent nonprofit under the fiscal sponsorship of the Colorado Nonprofit Development Center.

鈥淕rowing Up 麻豆影院鈥痺ill continue its deep partnership with CU 麻豆影院 as it evolves during its next phase," said 鈥�Mara Mintzer, GUB's director. "It 鈥痝rew from鈥痑 strong foundation in academia, and the鈥� students and faculty have been key to its success." 

The relationship between CEDaR and GUB is a model for how the university can develop, nurture and then spin off nonprofit activities, says Brian Muller, associate professor and CEDaR director.

鈥淕rowing Up 麻豆影院 began as a service-based research project and evolved into a program that is now more deeply embedded in the community than the university," Muller says. 鈥淚t will continue as a CEDaR affiliate with more flexibility to raise money and cultivate new relationships to expand its programs. Spinning it off strengthens GUB and benefits all its partners."

Over the years GUB grew to become one of the most鈥痵uccessful child-friendly city initiatives in the world. Some of GUB's鈥痩argest successes include Mintzer's鈥� 2018 TED Talk 鈥�," viewed 2.3 million times and translated into 21 languages;鈥� GUB鈥檚 鈥渃hild-friendly city map project,鈥� which brought together more than 30鈥痮rganizations and 700 young people to create the nation鈥檚 first printed, bilingual map designed by kids for kids; and the award-winning book, "Placemaking With Children and Youth: Participatory Practices for Planning Sustainable Communities," co-authored by GUB founders and faculty.鈥� 

University roots
In December 2008 Growing Up 麻豆影院 was conceived by David Driskell, director of community planning and sustainability for the city of 麻豆影院, and Willem van Vliet, CU 麻豆影院 professor (emeritus) and CEDaR fellow, as an effort to make 麻豆影院 one of the nation鈥檚 first child-friendly cities, recognizing鈥痶he rights and interests of children in local policy, law, programs and budgets as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Louise Chawla, CU 麻豆影院 professor (emerita) and CEDaR fellow, was also formative in GUB鈥檚 development. 

GUB formally launched in the spring of 2009 through an MOU鈥痓etween CU鈥槎褂霸�, the city of 麻豆影院鈥痑nd the 麻豆影院 Valley School District, working in partnership with local nonprofits, businesses, and many participating children and youth. 鈥疘ts overall goal was to bring about a culture change so that youth participation in local affairs would no longer be extraordinary, but mainstream and routine.鈥疓UB鈥痗reated鈥痯rogramming that helped local youth provide critical input on matters of city planning, education, sustainability, social justice and human rights. It supported a new generation of civic leaders, who tangibly improve their communities by sharing recommendations for city and community design and decision-making. 

• Contributed to key city planning guidelines and policies, including seven鈥痬aster plans for open space and mountain parks, resilient cities, and transportation, and more. 

• Engaged more than 6,000 麻豆影院 area kids on more than 100 city and community projects. Many program participants work with GUB for three鈥痬onths or more. 

• Upheld an internal standard to ensure that at least 50 percent of participating program children and youth are from historically marginalized groups. 

• Worked with more than 60 local and county partners to support hundreds of ideation sessions, after-school enrichments, and community engagement events. 

• Widely cited academic book chapters and journal articles. 

• Keynote addresses at national and international conferences. 

• Local, national, and international media coverage. 

• Training, lectures, and consulting sessions for many global partners, ranging from government staff and elected officials, young people, educators鈥痑nd academics. 

GUB has been a part of CEDaR and housed in the Program for Environmental Design for about 12 years, working in the context of an overall CEDaR philosophy that focuses on partnerships with city governments and community organizations; participatory action research;鈥� interdisciplinary collaboration across campus; integrated research by undergraduates, graduate students and faculty; and engagement with low-income and minority populations.鈥� 

Joint CEDaR and GUB initiatives include the鈥�Hill Redevelopment Project, a three-year effort to build engagement among the varied voices in development policy on the Hill. During this project, GUB worked with a Flatirons Elementary鈥� fourth-grade class鈥痶o develop ideas to make the 11th Street Corridor a fun and safer鈥痯lace for people of all ages. In another joint CEDaR effort to develop innovative urban design for manufactured housing communities,鈥疓UB engaged鈥痺ith the Ponderosa Mobile Home Park community to encourage brainstorming with children and parents around the design of green spaces, playgrounds and safety, as well as adding new amenities to the park.     

In addition, CEDaR provided the GUB partnership with services鈥痠ncluding office space and fiscal, computer, human resources and communications support; staff oversight; and management of joint projects and MOUs.  

GUB's evolution into a new phase will be celebrated at a  on May 4.  

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Professors Emeriti in CEDaR, Louise Chawla and Willem van Vliet, co-authored a chapter on 鈥淐hildren鈥檚 Rights to Child-friendly Cities," which was published in the latest edition of the Handbook of Children鈥檚 Rights (Routledge, 2017). The chapter traces the history of the extension of the idea of a 鈥渞ight to the city鈥� to children, the emergence of a Child Friendly Cities framework to guide urban design and policy for children, and different perspectives that have been applied to assess child-friendliness in cities. It closes with brief case studies of government and civil society programs to support children鈥檚 healthy development in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Delhi, India; and 麻豆影院, Colorado. 

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