Born, BrandenZaragoza, Rebecca T2026-02-052026-02-052026-02-052025Zaragoza_washington_0250O_29064.pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/1773/55309Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2025California’s Eastern Coachella Valley faces a persistent and acute shortage of safe and affordable housing for its essential workforce, particularly farmworkers and low-wage service workers. In response to this housing gap, small mobile home parks have emerged since the early 1990’s — many of which developed outside of formal planning processes. Commonly known today as Polanco Parks, these communities represent a vital, though often overlooked and stigmatized, form of informal housing. While they provide critical shelter to thousands of predominantly Latinx residents, Polanco Parks are frequently characterized by substandard or aging infrastructure, limited access to basic services, and geographic isolation from urban centers and municipal services. This thesis investigates the historical and spatial dynamics that have shaped the emergence and marginalization of Polanco Parks, with a focus on their growing exposure to extreme weather events under climate change. Through a qualitative methods approach that combines historical analysis, policy review, and spatial vulnerability assessment, this research contextualizes Polanco Parks within broader frameworks of informal urbanism and environmental and climate justice. It then proposes a conceptual site design for a selected case study park to explore strategies for place-based resilience. The design articulates a framework to support culturally-informed place-making, climate-adaptive infrastructure, well-being, and short- to long-term resilience. Ultimately, this thesis argues for the recognition of inclusion of informal housing typologies like Polanco Parks within regional climate adaptation planning and calls for targeted interventions that address both immediate infrastructure needs and long-term resilience.application/pdfen-USCC BY-NC-NDClimate JusticeCommunityEnvironmental JusticeEquityHousingPolanco ParksUrban planningDesignLandscape architectureUrban planningThesis