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.

Climate + EnergyFossil Fuel Transition

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

Housing + Cities

Seven Reasons Washington Needs Middle Housing

Because housing solutions are solutions for homelessness, jobs, equity, climate, and conservation.
Read More

Housing + Cities

Washington’s 2023 Middle Housing Bill, Explained

HB 1110 addresses the state’s acute housing shortage, opening up affordable options for families, workers, and elderly and young home seekers.
Read More

Climate + Energy

The High Cost of Unplanned Oil Refinery Closures

Measuring the employment and tax losses to communities and how oil companies are avoiding or delaying cleaning up their long-polluted sites. Plus, looking ahead for Washington state planning.
Read More

Climate + EnergyFossil Fuel Transition

New Report Charts Need for WA to Plan Ahead for Oil Refinery Closures

A spate of recent shutdowns across the US holds urgent lessons for local communities.
Read More

Sustainable Living

Sightline Institute’s Giving Tuesday Spotlights

Staff share their picks to support a brighter tomorrow.
Read More

1…2021222324…478

The High Cost of Unplanned Oil Refinery Closures

Measuring the employment and tax losses to communities and how oil companies are avoiding or delaying cleaning up their long-polluted sites. Plus, looking ahead for Washington state planning.
Read More

New Report Charts Need for WA to Plan Ahead for Oil Refinery Closures

A spate of recent shutdowns across the US holds urgent lessons for local communities.
Read More

No, Hydrogen Is Not the Savior Gas Utilities Are Looking For

Gas companies are making a risky bet.
Read More

Northwest States Need to Build New Power Lines, Fast

Otherwise, Oregon and Washington will miss critical climate targets.
Read More

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

The Pipeline Giant Behind Keystone XL Wants to Expand a Major Fracked Gas Pipeline in Cascadia

TC Energy is hoping no one will notice.
Read More

1…34567…236

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

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. 
Read More

Portland Election Delivers City’s Most Representative Council Ever

Proportional ranked choice voting lived up to the promises of the voter-approved charter reform.
Read More

123…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

Homelessness Is a Housing Problem

Why do some US cities struggle more with homelessness? A new book explores a key component of the issue: housing supply.
Read More

The Vancouver Region Is Leading the Way in Housing

An abundance of new homes in the works has the Vancouver, BC metro area far outpacing its US West Coast neighbors and making up for decades of underbuilding, but those plans must become reality for the region to truly win at housing.
Read More

Most Washington Voters Agree: Repeal Parking Mandates Near Transit

A recent poll revealed broad support for a little-known zoning reform.
Read More

YIMBYtown 2022: Tickets Now on Sale

At long last, the pro-housing movement’s annual conference is back.
Read More

No Minimum Parking Requirements? No Problem for Fayetteville, Arkansas

Six years into its deregulation experiment, a growing city thrives without parking mandates.
Read More

We Could Fit Lots of Homes in the Middle of Old Strip Malls

Redeveloping just ten percent of strip malls could fill a nine-year supply of housing in the Boston region, a new study finds. What could similar efforts elsewhere do?
Read More

1…1718192021…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.