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

Unlock Middle Housing with Parking Reform

As long as parking is required, smaller, lower-cost homes are still illegal.
Read More

Climate + EnergyFossil Fuel Transition

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

Housing + Cities

The Missing Piece of Oregon’s Housing Package: Legalizing Apartments

Gov. Kotek’s SB 1537 will do several useful things, but no longer directly lifts any local bans on apartment buildings. What happened?
Read More

Democracy + Elections

On Even-Year Elections, Trust Voters—and Evidence

Vastly higher turnout in even-numbered years drowns out down-ballot drop-off, and more representative results indicate voters have the information they need.
Read More

Housing + Cities

Now Fully Funded, Portland’s Affordability Mandate Should Be a Model

Underfunded inclusionary zoning fails, but fully funded programs can be a boost to below-market housing and a fiscal bargain.
Read More

Housing + Cities

British Columbia Just Took First Place in Pro-Housing Policy

In just one month in 2023, the province legalized fourplexes, allowed apartment buildings up to 20 stories near all transit stations, eliminated public hearings for plan-compliant buildings, ended parking requirements in transit-oriented districts, and announced that it is considering single-stair reform.
Read More

1…1011121314…478

Sightline Articles Are Coming to Your Podcast Feed

We’re introducing audio options on our latest research.
Read More

New Report: Forty Canceled Fossil Fuel Export Projects, with Nine Still Kicking

Looking back at a decade of (mostly) failed oil, gas, and coal export proposals.
Read More

Hydrogen’s Dead End: Home Heating

A word of caution to Cascadian lawmakers and regulators.
Read More

Celebrating and Dissecting Municipal Victories for Abundant Housing

Sam Diaz (1000 Friends of Oregon), Meg Fencil (Sustain Charlotte), Dov Kadin (Sacramento Area Council of Governments and House Sacramento), and Will Thomas (Open New York) share their organizations’ wins and how they overcame challenges on the road to victory.
Read More

Land Use Policy Is Climate Policy Is Housing Policy

Joe Cortright (City Observatory), Ben Holland (RMI), Jarred Johnson (TransitMatters), and moderator Ben Crowther (CNU) discuss how policies around land use, climate, and housing are all interconnected, and how we must strategically address transportation, transit, and housing issues to address the climate crisis.
Read More

No, British Columbia’s LNG Cannot Solve Europe’s Russian Gas Problem

And it’s a threat to the province’s climate commitments.
Read More

1…45678…236

A Guide to Alaska’s Ballot Measure on Election Reforms

Read More

North Carolina’s Witness Rule Favors White Voters

Read More

Will Ballot Postmarks Become 2020’s Hanging Chads?

Read More

Should Colorado Choose Presidents by Popular Vote?

Read More

6 Things You Can Do Right Now To Secure This Election

Read More

Pennsylvania Prevails on Absentee Voting Access

Read More

1…1718192021…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.