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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

It’s (Past) Time for British Columbia to Legalize Roommates

Another piece of the puzzle to make housing more affordable in the province—and keep up with southern neighbors Washington and Oregon.
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Farms + Forests

What’s Misunderstood about Indigenous Cultural Fire Is Sovereignty

Lessons from the Karuk Tribe.
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Democracy + Elections

The Election Calendar Is Cheating Idaho and Montana Voters

But neighboring Wyoming offers a solution.
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Democracy + Elections

Nonpartisan Open Primaries Let Alaskans Choose Values Over Party

More than half of voters in the 2022 midterm primaries split their tickets between candidates from across the political spectrum.
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Housing + Cities

Washington’s 2024 Short-Session Housing Wins

Three innovative bills carry forward the momentum of 2023 and complement its measures to legalize less expensive housing.
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Climate + EnergyFossil Fuel Transition

Washingtonians Will Soon Enjoy Cleaner Heating and Cooling Options

HB 2131, to allow thermal energy networks, unanimously passed in the 2024 legislative session. It’s a win for consumers, the climate, pipeline workers, and electric grids.
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Explaining Washington’s Ballot Initiative 2066

Four ways the initiative could affect Washington.
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Hydrogen Is Sneaking Its Way Into Oregon Homes

Oregon laws can catch up to protect customers.
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The Northwest’s Electric Grid Deserves an Upgrade

Up to 40 percent of the region’s grid could be suitable for reconductoring—for less than half the time and cost of building new transmission lines.
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Five Ways Ranked Choice Voting Could Help Climate Action

A functioning democracy is essential to tackling any large-scale issue.
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Washington State Leads in Climate-Friendly Building Policies—For Now

How two ballot initiatives would affect Washington’s clean building efforts and how the state can maintain its lead.
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Washingtonians Will Soon Enjoy Cleaner Heating and Cooling Options

HB 2131, to allow thermal energy networks, unanimously passed in the 2024 legislative session. It’s a win for consumers, the climate, pipeline workers, and electric grids.
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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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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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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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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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Alaskans Keep Their Model Election System

The open primaries and ranked choice voting that have delivered more representation for independents and moderate Republicans survived a repeal effort. 
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Portland Election Delivers City’s Most Representative Council Ever

Proportional ranked choice voting lived up to the promises of the voter-approved charter reform.
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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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We Ran the Rent Numbers on Portland’s 7 Newly Legal Home Options

Here are the three options we think can start to be built today – and five things we learned from this math.
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States Must Reform Zoning Because No City Can End a Shortage Alone

The core issue: When a city couldn’t fix a problem even if it tried, it has no reason to try.
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Yes, Other Places Do Housing Better, Case 3: Paris

The world’s most improved city for abundant housing in low-carbon neighborhoods
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Momentum Builds for Provincial Action on the Housing Shortage

Expert panel recommends pre-emption of local barriers to new homes in British Columbia
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Washington’s 2021 Legislative Session Marks Historic Investment in Renter Relief

In the wake of the pandemic, legislators prioritized rental assistance and tenant protections.
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Portland’s New Design Rules Could Kill Housing—But They Don’t Have To

Housing projects are 20 times more likely to face design appeals than non-housing projects. Design regulations don’t have to work this way.
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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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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. 

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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. 

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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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