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Last year, I described how Seattle killed micro-housing through a series of legislative actions and administrative policy shifts that enacted a virtual ban on congregate micro-housing, pushed developers to build a larger and pricier form of micro-housing known as Small Efficiency Dwelling Units (SEDUs), inflated the size of SEDUs through new rules on minimum unit sizes, and denied SEDUs access to incentive programs that would make their rents more affordable....

Kelsey Over dinner the other night, one of my friends proclaimed, “I’m currently at war with my cell phone.” I immediately laughed this off as another one of his hyperboles and took the light rail home, watching nearly all my fellow passengers frown into the blue-light of their screens. Soon after, I ran across this PBS interview with Tristan Harris, a former Google “product philosopher.” Tristan’s main point is that...

In another sign of the collapsing prospects for West Coast coal exports, Cloud Peak Energy—one of the largest coal producers in the American West and the best positioned coal exporter in the vast Powder River Basin—recently announced that it had extricated itself from long-term contracts to move coal into Pacific Rim markets. It was a costly retrenchment: the company gave up nearly $10 million that was held in escrow accounts and still...

Serena Former Grist staff writer Brentin Mock (now with CityLab) wrote an excellent article for Outside Magazine on the imperative for traditional green organizations to adopt racial justice as a central priority to their work. Doing so, he argues, is the only way to right these groups’ racist legacy and to remain relevant and powerful into the future. My new morning mindfulness practice? Taking a minute each morning to ponder...

  Thanks to map maker Jeffrey Linn of Spatialities for his tireless work to make this map as accurate as possible. Also thank you to CartoDB for providing Sightline with a grant to use its map hosting services. Note 3/9/17: The four maps showing the growth of single-family zoning in Seattle since 1923 show the overarching story of this zoning type in the Emerald City, but may not be precise down to the city-block...

Kristin In the past three months, there were 22 days when school in was out but work was in for professional workers. For people who don’t have the privilege, as I do, of paid holidays, there were 27 days when workers had to choose between working, paying for childcare, or leaving their kids home alone. I am also lucky (for an American) to have paid sick days and vacation days,...

Today, we’re looking back at our top articles from 2016. It’s worth remembering the inspiring wins that happened during a difficult year. We took a deeper dive into housing and urbanism research, continued our work on stopping coal, oil, and gas infrastructure in the Pacific Northwest, exposed the financial instability of the coal industry, and helped pass a democracy reform initiative in Portland. The Thin Green Line held strong this year,...

The company behind the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) owes its investors a straight answer: does it face a January 1 contractual deadline with its shippers, or doesn’t it? Company spokespeople have told the court that they do, but told the press that they don’t. Now, with less than two weeks before the alleged deadline, it’s time for the company to stop the doubletalk and set the record straight. In a...

We at Sightline share our favorite organizations to help inspire your end-of-year giving. We imagine these organizations will need our support more than ever in the coming years and want to amplify the great work that is happening in Cascadia and beyond. Have a favorite organization you’re giving to this year? Share it in the comments below! Tarika For the past month, I’ve found myself vacillating between the patriotic belief that...

Serena Some dude wrote a long book about the history and origins of consumerism and was kind enough to distill it into an interesting several-page article. In my view, the long history of moral prohibitions against the accumulation of stuff has a curious contemporary manifestation, in which a certain class of consumers is encouraged to demonstrate its values through few, but purportedly conscientious purchases of ethically sourced and produced (and more expensive) items and services. In other...