Valdez to Anchorage - Alaska

This is the typical string of shops, gas station and tavern we see all through Alaska. The car park is dirt and the buildings look pretty temporary. Only the largest couple of towns have shopping centres and buildings like we are used to and even then the buildings are usually only 3 - 4 stories high. Maybe it has something to do with the cold? We saw one building in Anchorage, their largest town, that was 14 stories but there aren't too many that high.