Recently, we reported on a CBC special series that examined the financialization of rental housing in Canada’s far north, which was making life difficult — often next to impossible — for First Nations, and Inuit people as well as “southerners” who have chosen to make their home in the far north1.
Here’s a story from Alaska that adds another issue to consider in housing in the far north — not some future concern, but one that has already arrived: the climate crisis.
The Pulitzer Center explores the story of climate change in the far North, beginning with the tale of melting permafrost that has slowly been swallowing whole a resident’s house.
This is a story with a worldwide impact, of particular importance in the United States (Alaska), Canada, the northern Scandinavian countries and Russia (Siberia).
The accompanying article focuses primarily on how climate change is being felt in Alaska and some actions that are being taken to counter the effects. It makes note of the importance of aboriginal cultures spread across this northern globe and their knowledge of housing design adapted to northern conditions over thousands of years.
Read more from the Pulitzer Center: Housing in Alaska Can’t Survive Climate Change. This Group Is Trying a New Model.2
Footnotes
- Try: Cold Facts: While The Govts Snooze, The REITs Abuse And The Tenants Lose
- Alternatively, if you have a subscription to the Washington Post, you can read the same story here: Housing in Alaska can’t survive climate change. This group is trying a new model.
