fbpx
Donate Newsletters

Researching the region’s most pressing sustainability challenges

We provide citizens and decision-makers with the policy analysis and practical tools they need to advance an economy and way of life that are environmentally sound, economically vibrant, and socially just.

Our Work

All Sightline Institute research is available to you to cite, use, and share, per our free use policy.

Parking Reform Alone Can Boost Homebuilding by 40 to 70 Percent

More evidence that parking flexibility is key to housing abundance.
Read More

The History of Washington’s Wandering Election Day

Despite intending to choose a voting day that’s best for voters, timing could still be easier—and legislators can fix that.
Read More

A Magic Boost for Low-Turnout City Elections

Seattle’s 2024 special city council election showed just how easily local voter participation could skyrocket.
Read More

Reintroducing: Your Local Library, a Critical Tool for Democracy

A Q&A with author and advocate Shamichael Hallman on how public libraries can help us rebuild civic trust and connection—if we redefine our relationship with them. 
Read More

Election Reform Measures Lost; Election Reform Didn’t

What to learn—and what to leave behind—from the 2024 ballot measure losses in Cascadia.
Read More

Lessons for Washington State Leaders as Another US Oil Refinery Closes

In a state home to five oil refineries, a forthcoming, taxpayer-funded study can answer some central questions.
Read More

123…478

Lessons for Washington State Leaders as Another US Oil Refinery Closes

In a state home to five oil refineries, a forthcoming, taxpayer-funded study can answer some central questions.
Read More

One of Washington’s Anti-Climate Initiatives, 2066, Eked Out a Victory. Why?

And how leaders can still help families and businesses electrify for safer, cleaner buildings in line with the state’s climate values.
Read More

Four Ways Gov.-elect Ferguson and Washington Lawmakers Can Build on the State’s Big Climate Win

After Washingtonians overwhelmingly voted to keep the Climate Commitment Act, their leaders have powerful opportunities ahead.
Read More

Correcting the Record on Initiative 2066

What the Seattle Times editorial board got wrong about the Washington ballot measure.
Read More

The Contradiction of a Split Vote on Washington’s Anti-Climate Ballot Initiatives

Initiatives 2066 and 2117 are closely linked, but polls and endorsements diverge.
Read More

(Re)explaining Washington’s Climate Commitment Act

Understanding the cap-and-invest law that Washington Initiative 2117 would repeal.
Read More

123…236

Approval Voting Is a Risky Prospect for Seattle

It’s a novice system when it comes to real-world elections, where ranked choice voting is a battle-tested pro.
Read More

San Juan County (WA) Council Blocks Ranked Choice Voting and Other Charter Amendments from November Ballot

In a setback for county residents and democracy reforms sprouting up across Cascadia, Councilors claimed without explanation that the amendments did not comply with provisions of the Charter.
Read More

In Alaska’s Special Election, a Bipartisan Mindset Makes Sense

Pandering to the center is actually a viable strategy in the race to serve out Rep. Don Young’s term in the US House.
Read More

A Guide to Alaska’s August 16 Election

One ballot, two elections: The pick-one midterm primaries and the ranked choice special election for US House are on the same ballot.
Read More

A Berry Alaska-Style Election

Practice Alaska’s new election system—with the state’s iconic berries!
Read More

Why Alaska’s Top-Four Open Primaries Are Better Than Top-Two

Santa Claus is on the ballot, but that’s only one of the reasons.
Read More

1…910111213…56

Uncontainable Wildfires Are Inevitable. Community Destruction Is Not.

Five policy shifts could help communities harden their homes against fire danger.
Read More

Seven Ways to Pay for Long Rotations

Public investment is the key to sustainable forestry.
Read More

Northwest Carbon Markets Can’t Support Longer Timber Harvest Rotations

That would take a New Zealand-style, all-forests cap-and-trade system.
Read More

Why Do We Choose Short Rotation Forestry Over Carbon Storage, Timber Supply, and Forest Health?

The discount rate, vanishing large-log mills, and fear of the spotted owl.
Read More

Yes, Long Rotations Can Yield Real Climate Gains for Cascadia

Harvesting trees at 80 years, instead of 40, stores more carbon and yields more timber.
Read More

1234…6

More Trees for More Neighbors

Balancing priorities of greenscape and residential infill to house more neighbors in healthy communities.
Read More

Q&A: The Costs of Parking Mandates in Booming Austin

“No question that we’re overbuilding parking”: Austin’s Leah Bojo on parking.
Read More

Developers Sound Off: Successes, Challenges, and Opportunities to Build All This Dang Housing

Payton Chung (Westover Green), Ezra Hammer (Taylor Morrison), Eric Thompson (Oregon Homeworks), and moderator Michael Andersen (Sightline Institute) discuss how developers are adjusting their projects to housing and zoning laws.
Read More

What’s Happening on Housing in the US Federal Government?

The federal budget, Congressional bills, and more DC strategies: a presentation by Up for Growth.
Read More

Winning Abundant Housing: Japan and New Zealand

In all the industrial world, Japan has perhaps the best housing economy and New Zealand may have the worst. What lessons do they offer to teach other places?
Read More

Tenants’ Rights in Our Backyard—and Tenants in Our Coalition, Too

Jamey Duhamel (Portland Bureau of Transportation), Tram Hoang (Housing Justice Center), and moderator Shelby King (Shelterforce) share their experiences in housing accessibility and tenants’ rights advocacy.
Read More

1…1516171819…123

Video: Housing Solutions Are Climate Solutions

In 90 seconds, how zoning for more home choices in our cities helps affordability and cuts climate pollution.
Read More

Poll: Washington Voters Out Ahead Of Local Leaders On Zoning Reforms

Statewide survey shows broad voter receptivity—across partisan, demographic, and geographic lines—to zoning changes to allow more homes like duplexes and small apartment buildings.
Read More

Video: Zoning for All Kinds of Affordable Homes

Cities need all kinds of affordability, both subsidized housing and naturally affordable, modest-sized, market-rate homes.
Read More

Recipes for Successful Abundant Housing Communications

In this panel discussion, three expert communicators share how they’ve crafted compelling narratives, engaged coalitions, and garnered press attention for housing affordability and climate policy.
Read More

How to Tear Down the Invisible Walls in Your City’s Zoning Code

10 tips for zoning reformers from a town that legalized housing.
Read More

123…28

Subscribe to our Newsletters

Timely digests

Join the 15,000+ readers who get Sightline Institute’s latest research, insights, and quips from our team delivered straight to their inbox. Always free, thanks to our community of generous supporters.

Sightline news picks

Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings.

Cut through the noise and get the news you can use. Sightline editors—real people—hand-pick headlines from 150+ outlets to keep you on top of the stories shaping our region’s communities, economy, and environment. Reader favorite; formerly known as Sightline Daily. 

Sightline weekly

Saturday mornings.

Only have a few minutes each week? Our weekly wrap-up delivers the latest Sightline research and solutions, plus top headlines to keep movers and shakers in the know. 

Sightline month in review

End of the month.

Get a month’s worth of solutions research and key headlines, plus a personal note from a Sightline team member connecting the dots and putting our work into the larger news context. 

Issue insights from Sightline experts

Hear directly from our team of experts. They take you on a deeper dive into Sightline’s solutions, translating their latest analysis and sharing behind-the-scenes context for the research—as well as what to watch for next. Delivered about monthly.

Housing + Cities

Parking, zoning, sprawl, pollution, property rights, commutes, rents, and home prices—they all intersect where a legacy of exclusionary rules and regulations restrict homebuilding and fuel our housing shortage. Hear from Dan Bertolet, Catie Gould, Michael Andersen, and others exploring solutions for low-carbon, affordable, accessible cities and towns.  

Climate + Energy

From electrification to decarbonization, carbon pricing to grid upgrades, Emily Moore and team decode the policy solutions to power a greener, more equitable, and robust economy for the region’s future.  

Democracy + Elections

Protecting voter choice and voice with clear-eyed, independent analysis and models of success—Alan Durning, Jay Lee, Shannon Grimes, Al Vanderklipp, and others send you the latest elections solutions and opportunities, from Alaska to Oregon and inland to Montana and Idaho. 

Farms + Forests

Where sustainability meets stewardship of our natural resources and food systems. Get dispatches from actual farms and forests—and the policy discussions that determine their health and climate impacts. 

Your newsletter subscriptions with us are subject to Sightline Institute’s Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

Stay Informed

* indicates required
Select All Newsletters

By clicking ‘Subscribe’, I consent to receiving the above communication from Sightline Institute. I understand that I may unsubscribe from these communications at any time.