Alaskan urbanization.

• Author: Woolam, Cami
• Position: Alaska Trends

Alaska Trends, an outline of significant statewide statistics, is provided by the University of Alaska Center for Economic Development and sponsored by American Fast Freight.

All over the world, the population is moving from rural areas to cities. Alaska is no exception to this trend. In 2000, about 51 percent of Alaska residents lived in the Anchorage/Mat-Su area; in 2007, that percentage had climbed to 54 percent.

A more sophisticated analysis, which will not be attempted here, might consider whether this increase is from Alaskans moving out of rural areas and into urban ones, or an inflow of residents from outside the state. It is likely that the trend is a combination of both factors.

It is interesting to note that while Anchorage is growing...