This month, Anchorage Housing Club and YWCA Alaska co-hosted Stranded: A Community Conversation on Transit & Housing, an event that invited residents to reflect on the connections between housing and transportation challenges in Anchorage. AKPIRG’s Anchorage Housing Organizer, Nithya Thiru, guided the discussion with four grounding questions:

• What barriers do you or folks in your community currently face in accessing
  public transportation or getting around Anchorage?

• Would you consider your neighborhood walkable? Why or why not?

• What is one thing you think the city could do to improve access to transit and housing?

• What does your ideal neighborhood look like?

The 40 attendees split into six groups to swap stories and brainstorm together before coming back to a full-group conversation. Common themes included the need for better-maintained and accessible bus stops, safer walking routes between neighborhoods, and lots of excitement for building housing near transit.

Hands-on activities brought these ideas to life: a photo wall showcased housing styles from Alaska and beyond, sparking comments and reflections on sticky notes, and a large map of Anchorage let people mark where they live and work, highlighting the long and varied commutes so many tackle each day.

The event made clear that challenges with transportation and housing are deeply interconnected and that solutions must center the experiences of people navigating those challenges every day. By coming together to share stories, imagine improvements, and highlight barriers, participants began charting a path toward a more accessible, equitable Anchorage. Notecards collected during the event, along with the broader themes raised in discussion, will be shared with the Anchorage Assembly and the Mayor’s Office as part of the ongoing public process for the ordinance that supports housing development near existing transit lines, also known as the  Transit Supportive Development Overlay (TSDO). These community voices will help inform policies that build housing near transit, connect neighborhoods, and ensure every Anchorage resident can get where they need to go, safely and affordably.

Read the report compiled from the community’s conversations here.