Many people know the Coachella Valley in Southern California for party towns like Palm Springs or its more than 100 golf courses. But in the eastern part of the valley, it’s a whole different world.
There, a lack of affordable housing for farmworkers and their families has led to a large concentration of mobile home parks that have existed for decades without permits. Many have serious infrastructure problems, including contaminated groundwater wells, leaking septic systems and unreliable electricity.
After years of dire living conditions, steps are being taken to tackle the problems.