This presentation was delivered at NADO's Annual Training Conference, held in Anchorage, Alaska on September 9-12, 2017. Public, private, and nonprofit partners work together in Anchorage to promote policies, plans, and programs that support social and economic integration of new and long-time residents. Learn how these various efforts dovetail to ensure economic vitality, common ground, and shared leadership. Lessons learned from this session will apply at the regional, county, or community levels. Moira Gallagher, Live. Work. Play. Director, AEDC, Anchorage, AK Mara Kimmel, First Lady of Anchorage, City of Anchorage, Anchorage, AK Lourdes Linato-Crawford, President, Bridge Builders of Anchorage, Anchorage, AK Wanetta Ayers, Interim Executive Director, Prince William Sound, EDD, Anchorage, AK, Moderator

1. What is Live. Work. Play.?
A community-led grassroots
effort to improve quality of life in
Anchorage, attracting and
retaining a strong workforce and
fostering a sustainable, diverse
and growing economy. Our
vision is to make Anchorage the
#1 city in America to live, work
and play by 2025.

2. Live. Work. Play. is divided into seven Areas of Focus:
Housing
Creative Placemaking
Workforce Development
Workplace Well-Being
Community Safety
Trails
One Anchorage,
One Economy

3. Live. Work. Play. Workforce Development
• Nationwide, surveys of employers show that the #1 asset companies
look for when deciding where to locate is access to a broad, well-
educated talent pool
• Locally, employer survey results show that the #1 challenge for
businesses in Anchorage is access to talented workforce

4. The question on everyone’s mind
What do Millennials want?
• Integrated community with opportunity to connect
• Job and financial security in fulfilling roles; entrepreneurship
• Diversity and inclusion, not a homogenous population
• Art, culture, and a vibrant social scene
How do we get there?
• Incentivize high density residential development downtown
• Encourage employer policies that are family-friendly
• Invest in public transit, mixed-use development
• Bring neighborhoods together with art and activites

5. Top Ten Cities for Millennials
Arlington, VA Minneapolis, MN Cambridge, MA
Sandy Springs, GASunnyvale, CABerkeley, CA
Ann Arbor, MISeattle, WA Alexandria, VA
San Francisco, CA

6. What does Amazon want?
• A city of 1 million residents or more
• Diverse population
• Recreational opportunities and high quality of life
• Housing to accommodate 50,000 new employees
• Access to mass transit
• At least one university

7. Diversity and inclusion
How do Baby Boomers define “diversity”?
• A representation of fairness and protection to all, regardless of
gender, race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.
How do Millennials define “diversity”?
• The blending of different backgrounds, experiences, and
perspectives within a team, which is known as cognitive diversity.

8. Diversity and inclusion
How do Baby Boomers define “inclusion”?
• A business environment that integrates individuals of all of the above
demographics into one workplace
How do Millennials define “inclusion”?
• Support for a collaborative environment that values open
participation from individuals with different ideas and perspectives
that has a positive impact on business
• Leadership at such an organization is transparent, communicative,
and engaging
In other words: it starts with business

9. What are the challenges?
• Expensive housing
• Aging inventory with poor
condition
• Unavailable housing in desired
areas (local AEDC and national
surveys show over 50% of
population wants to live in an
urban walking environment.)
Live. Work. Play. Housing
• Major employers cite
housing as one of the top
difficulties to attract and
retain talented workers
• A strong talent pool is critical
for Anchorage to be the #1
place to live, work and play.

10. Housing
Survey

11. Housing
Survey

12. Creative Placemaking: Best Practices
• Portland: City Repair Project hosts intersection painting in residential
neighborhoods, bringing together neighborhoods for the process of brainstorming
and painting
• Project Row Houses, a Houston non-profit, “shifts the view of art from traditional
studio practice to a more conceptual base of transforming the social environment.”
• What public-private partnerships could Anchorage create that inspire art and culture
within residential communities?

13. Community
Safety
• Neighborhood disorder has a direct impact on
economic growth
• Studies show that neighborhoods with high disorder
are perceived as less safe, and residents’ feelings of
helplessness are high
• Neighborhood disorder is correlated with weak
neighborhood ties
• Perception is key because it can make an area

14. Green Dot Training for Employers and Staff
• Green Dot Training is a free bystander
intervention program that is offered nationwide
to reduce the incidence of violence in the
community
• Teaches techniques to intervene safely before a
situation escalates
• Offered for free to employers who wish to train
staff to keep employees and their
families safe www.facebook.com/greendotanchorage/

15. Workplace Well-being
• Attracting and retaining talent means creating a
workplace environment that promotes mental
and physical well-being
Learn more and take the employer
workplace wellbeing survey!

16. • Connection to place is
critical in development
healthy and economically
robust neighborhoods
• Our trails provide a unique
opportunity to feel
connected to your
neighborhood and your city
Neighborhood pride and trails

17. Moira Gallagher:
mgallagher@aedcweb.com