How the Town looks:

Because of the permafrost houses in the Arctic cannot be built directly on top of the ground. If they were, then the heat from the house through the floor would melt the permafrost and the house would start to tilt or sink into the ground!

Instead the houses are built on "pillars" sunk into the frozen ground. For the same reason not even the plumbing or water pipes can be put into the ground and you see elevated pipelines running to all the houses. These are called utilidors and they run all throughout Inuvik. You get use to the look. This place looks nothing like home!