Based in Anchorage, Alaska where she grew up, Meghan Holtan brings both lived experience and research expertise to questions of housing, climate adaptation, and community wellbeing in northern contexts. Before pursuing her PhD in Urban and Regional Planning at the State University of New at Buffalo, she worked for many years as a planning and housing analyst in Alaska, giving her firsthand understanding of the challenges and innovations happening in northern communities.

Her work sits at the intersection of housing, governance, and health equity. Her dissertation research explores how Alaska's housing providers are already innovating for rapid environmental and political change, and how better evaluation and monitoring tools could support and amplify their work. She's particularly drawn to arts-based methods that can widen access to the decision-making processes that shape our built environments.

Meghan is excited to collaborate with housing providers, community organizations, artists, policymakers, and fellow researchers who share interests in practitioner-centered approaches to climate adaptation and housing justice in northern places.

Selected Publications

Holtan, M. T., Bowen, E., Maisel, J., & Riva, M. (2024). Housing for care, connection, and health equity. Health & Place, 90, 103383.

Holtan MT, Clark SS, Conklin D, Rajkovich NB, et al. (2025). Extreme heat adaptation planning: A review of monitoring, evaluation and reporting. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management.

Holtan, M. T. (2025). Settler colonialism in the Great Lakes climate haven narrative: Imagery, language, and logic. Urban Infill, 9(Great Lakes Climate Mobilities), 73–76.

Holtan, M. T. (Under review). Adaptive urban health justice for housing in the circumpolar north: Learning with Alaska. Urban Studies.