Alaskan communities exhibit different capacities for coping with change a concept called community resiliency . The most resilient communities are those that have strong civic leadership, a diverse economy, a strong sense of community, and abundant special places nearby. Highly resilient communities plan, organize, and act in response to change thus dampening potentially negative effects of change whereas non-resilient communities are more volatile and experience more dramatic swings in fortune. The most resilient communities found in this study were Anchorage, Sitka, and Juneau while the least resilient communities include Whittier, Sterling, and Valdez. Measures of community resiliency components vary from community to community .
Civic leadership is the most important component of community resiliency.
Communities with the highest perceived level of civic leadership were Skagway, Juneau, Cooper Landing, and Anchorage. Communities with the lowest perceived levels of civic leadership were Whittier, Sterling, and Cordova. Communities perceived to be the most diverse economically were Anchorage, Sitka, and Juneau while the least economically diverse communities were Sterling, Whittier, and Hope. Communities perceived to be the most socially cohesive were Cooper Landing, Moose Pass, and Petersburg while the least socially cohesive communities were Whittier, Anchorage, and Ketchikan. Finally, communities perceived to have the most abundance of special places nearby were Girdwood, Whittier, and Moose Pass while the least abundant were Ketchikan, Kenai, and Soldotna.