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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.

Housing + Cities

Parking Reform Alone Can Boost Homebuilding by 40 to 70 Percent

More evidence that parking flexibility is key to housing abundance.
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Democracy + Elections

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.
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Democracy + Elections

A Magic Boost for Low-Turnout City Elections

Seattle’s 2024 special city council election showed just how easily local voter participation could skyrocket.
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Democracy + Elections

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. 
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Democracy + Elections

Election Reform Measures Lost; Election Reform Didn’t

What to learn—and what to leave behind—from the 2024 ballot measure losses in Cascadia.
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Climate + Energy

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.
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Northwest Climate Goals Are at Odds with a Few State Energy Efficiency Rules

Sightline recommends targeted fixes to Oregon and Washington utility incentives
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Supercharging Cascadian Decarbonization

Four antidotes for the poison pill in Northwest energy building finance laws.
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Washington State Leads the Nation on Climate Action

Decades of organizing and political leadership finally paid off
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Climate Action in the Courts

Two lawsuits seek to hold corporations responsible for the extraction and promotion of fossil fuels.
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The Smoke and Mirrors Defense of RNG

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The Four Fatal Flaws of Renewable Natural Gas

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In Some Cities, Most Voters Put Someone They Want on City Council—But Not Portland

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Voters in Southwest Portland Neighborhoods Have More Influence on City Council Elections than Those East of 82nd Avenue

Voters in neighborhoods with more people of color are less likely to elect their preferred councilors.
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Portland: Why Risk Gerrymandering When You Could Go Proportional?

Un-gerrymandered districts would keep racial groups in the minority across the city.
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Want to Give Portlanders of Color a Voice on City Council? Districts Won’t Help

But proportional ranked choice voting would reliably give voters of color a voice in City Hall.
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Everything You Wanted to Know about Portland Charter Review but Were Afraid to Ask

The third ever Charter Commission is meeting right now to propose amendments to Portland’s city charter.
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Some Good News on State Voting Rights Bills

Most states are moving to make it easier to vote, but a few states are moving backwards.
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Four Ways Context Matters for Wildfire News Coverage

Reporters can help people see the forest, even when the trees are on fire.
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Blazing a Trail: The Vital Role of Wildfire Hazard Maps

Sophisticated and high-resolution maps such as Oregon’s are essential tools for thriving in a fiery future.
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What’s Misunderstood about Indigenous Cultural Fire Is Sovereignty

Lessons from the Karuk Tribe.
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Oregon’s Land Use Law Creates Wildfire-Adapted Communities

Bend residents have shown us how.
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The Best Wildfire Solution We’re Not Using

Three ways to curb the sprawl that traps us on a wildfire treadmill.
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We’re Stuck on a Wildfire Treadmill

And to escape, we need more fire, not less.
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Housing Is Popular, Actually

How many times do voters need to say so before journalists believe them?
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End Parking Mandates, Get a Free Bus Pass

Great programs like this one in Minnesota don’t happen when big parking lots are mandatory.
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Cities’ Bigger Future Can Look and Feel Beautiful—If We Build for It

An architect invites cities and towns to zone and design for the futures they want.
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To Stop Building Heat Islands, Stop Overbuilding Parking Lots

Parking lots amplify high temperatures. Why are we still requiring them to be larger than they need to be?
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Will Washington Do The Right Thing on Backyard Homes This Year?

Years of delay on reforms for in-law apartments has denied homes to thousands.
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Washington Bill Would Legalize Hundreds of Thousands More Homes

Allowing “middle housing” options would ease the state’s shortage of homes and right historic wrongs.
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Video: Housing Solutions Are Climate Solutions

In 90 seconds, how zoning for more home choices in our cities helps affordability and cuts climate pollution.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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How to Tear Down the Invisible Walls in Your City’s Zoning Code

10 tips for zoning reformers from a town that legalized housing.
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Americans Want to Vote As Trump Does (By Mail), Not As He Says

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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. 

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