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.

Democracy + Elections

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

Housing + Cities

Oregon Just Slashed Parking Mandates. 5 Things That Might Happen Next

From more historic building renovations to smarter curbside parking management, two-thirds of Oregonians are about to experience the benefits of making more asphalt optional.
Read More

Democracy + Elections

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

Farms + Forests

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

Housing + Cities

Affordable Housing in Oregon Is About to Catch a Big Break from Parking Mandates

Finally, homes for people will no longer be conditional on car parking.
Read More

Climate + EnergyFossil Fuel Transition

Heat Pumps a Win-Win for Cascadia’s Now Hotter, Drier Summers

The heat dome bolstered the case for cleaner home cooling and heating technology and for decarbonizing the region’s economy.
Read More

1…2627282930…478

How Governor Inslee Can Rebalance Washington’s Utility Decarbonization Bill

HB 1589 favors investors over ratepayers—and state climate goals. A section veto would go a long way to fix the bill.
Read More

180 Sites Account for a Quarter of Cascadia’s Carbon Pollution

The region has a lot more cleaning up to do, even in its greenest corners.
Read More

Is the Permitting Process for Transmission Lines Really Broken?

Analyzing three common claims of malfunction, plus proposing a new, faster way forward for the Northwest.
Read More

Who Will Pay for Cascadia’s Transmission Lines?

The multibillion-dollar question that Senator Maria Cantwell, Governor Jay Inslee, and other Northwest leaders can help answer.
Read More

Why Is It So Hard to Build New Transmission Lines?

For starters, Cascadia has no plan.
Read More

Without Gas, What Business Models Could Gas Utilities Pursue?

Several examples exist, and Cascadian policymakers can encourage shifts while setting guardrails to protect customers.
Read More

12345…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

Four Ways Context Matters for Wildfire News Coverage

Reporters can help people see the forest, even when the trees are on fire.
Read More

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.
Read More

What’s Misunderstood about Indigenous Cultural Fire Is Sovereignty

Lessons from the Karuk Tribe.
Read More

Oregon’s Land Use Law Creates Wildfire-Adapted Communities

Bend residents have shown us how.
Read More

The Best Wildfire Solution We’re Not Using

Three ways to curb the sprawl that traps us on a wildfire treadmill.
Read More

We’re Stuck on a Wildfire Treadmill

And to escape, we need more fire, not less.
Read More

123…6

Parking Reform Alone Can Boost Homebuilding by 40 to 70 Percent

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

Three Ways Anchorage Leaders Could Unlock More Homes

The ordinances under consideration offer commonsense solutions to address the city’s longstanding housing shortage.
Read More

Parking Mandates Are Keeping Kids Out of Daycare

But cities can ditch these arbitrary rules and help families out of the daycare desert.
Read More

In Race after Race, People Keep Electing Pro-Housing Politicians

Contrary to some misconceptions, most voters seem to understand that housing is good.
Read More

To Fix Inclusionary Zoning, Fund It

Lessons from places that are solving the biggest problem in abundant housing politics and policy.
Read More

Vancouver Shows Just How Much it Costs to Ban Apartments

Driving problems from inequality to sprawl to pollution, restrictions against anything but single-detached houses have to go.
Read More

123…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

Americans Want to Vote As Trump Does (By Mail), Not As He Says

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.