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.

Housing + Cities

Parking Reform Alone Can Boost Homebuilding by 40 to 70 Percent

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

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.
Read More

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.
Read More

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. 
Read More

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.
Read More

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.
Read More

123…477

It’s Time for Cascadia to Start Pruning the Gas System and Electrifying Whole Neighborhoods

Early efforts in California, Colorado, and New York offer lessons to get started.
Read More

Washington’s Refinery Communities Just Got a Transition Boost

A quarter-million-dollar budget proviso will fund a study to map opportunities beyond oil.
Read More

The Northwest Needs More Midsize Solar

While distributed solar can’t solve the region’s transmission woes alone, Idaho and Washington would be smart to follow Oregon’s lead in boosting it for a cleaner future.
Read More

What Washington, DC, Can Learn from the Other Washington about Climate Policy

Six lessons from the Evergreen State for America’s national leaders.
Read More

It’s Time to Stop Subsidizing New Gas Pipes

Regulators across Cascadia should end line extension allowances, the subsidies ratepayers finance that expand utilities’ pipeline infrastructure.
Read More

Is There a Future for Gas Utilities? It Could Be Heating and Cooling Your Home (from the Ground)

“GeoNetworks” are being piloted in New York and Massachusetts. Cascadia should be next.
Read More

123456…235

‘Majority Rules’ Brings Election Reform to the Big Screen

The documentary digs into Alaska’s 2022 launch of open primaries and ranked choice voting—and how the changes shook up the status quo.
Read More

Ranked Choice Voting Is Simple—Election Laws Are Not

Read More

When Do Cities Hold Elections?

A US Dataset on Election Consolidation
Read More

Voter participation jumped when Alaska opened its primaries

2022 turnout for every candidate contest reached a decade high.
Read More

Spoiler Alert! Majority Winners Are No Guarantee

Oregon’s past statewide and federal elections are full of spoiler candidates and non-majority winners.
Read More

The Bizarre Red-Blue Politics of Election Consolidation

And the chance for stronger democracy it creates.
Read More

1…34567…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

BC Election Results Show Public Support for More Homes

While the most pro-housing parties didn’t win big support from voters, they pulled the conversation toward a more housing-abundant policy future for the province.
Read More

How Portland’s Form of Government Makes It Hard to Find Parking

Transportation commissioners come and go, but policies to free up curb space remain perpetually stuck at City Hall.
Read More

Shifting Gears

Why communities are eliminating off-street parking requirements—and what comes next.
Read More

Big Reforms, Big Growth: Buffalo’s Parking Rewrite Pays Off

A Q&A with one of the planners behind the mid-sized NY city’s successes.
Read More

The Ambitious Housing Plans at the Center of Vancouver, BC’s, October Election

No longer a political third rail, parties are vying for votes with big promises to build abundant homes in one the world’s priciest cities. They could set a gold standard for North America.
Read More

Troutdale Says Tax-Funded Housing Project Has a Problem: Too Many Homes

The county’s affordable housing provider proposes 94 homes near Troutdale’s downtown. The city is holding it to a rule that would cut that to 70 to make more room for parking.
Read More

1…89101112…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.