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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

One in Three Garages Has No Car in It

You can build it, but they won’t park there.
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Housing + Cities

The Price of Old Homes Depends on the Cost of Building New Homes

An explanation, via hamburgers.
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Democracy + ElectionsHousing + Cities

Abundant Housing Requires Abundant Democracy

Candace Avalos (Verde Portland, Neighbors Welcome board member), Jeannette Lee (Sightline Institute), and moderator Alex Zielinski (Portland Mercury) discuss electoral reforms in Alaska and Portland, and their potential to affect housing policy.
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Housing + Cities

Social Housing in Our Backyards: West Coast Campaigns Aim for Housing Access for All

Tiffani McCoy (Real Change and House Our Neighbors!), Darrell Owens (California YIMBY), and moderator Ned Resnikoff (California YIMBY) talk about campaigns for social housing and how this model can succeed in the US.
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Housing + Cities

Showing Up for All Our Neighbors: YIMBY and Houselessness

Kaia Sand (Street Roots), Trisha Patterson (Portland: Neighbors Welcome), and moderator Hanna Brooks Olsen discuss the importance of government, organizations, and the unhoused working together and recognizing each other’s strengths and lived experiences to inform policies.
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Climate + Energy

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.
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Five Reasons That Expanding the Trans Mountain Oil Pipeline Is Still a Colossal Mistake

And no, it’s not a solution to Europe’s dependency on Russian oil.
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Pacific Northwest States Paid $700 Million for Russian Oil Last Year Alone

Cascadia’s oil imports and Russia’s war.
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Responsibly Sourced Gas: Boon or Boondoggle?

A new certification measures the industry’s marginal progress, while buyers should keep their eyes on the true clean energy prize.
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New WA Bill Would Hold Big Oil Accountable for Oil Spills

HB 1691 protects taxpayers from the cleanup costs that should be the responsibility of the oil industry.
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With Oil Unreliable, Refinery Communities Deserve a Transition Plan

Whatcom and Skagit leaders can help their communities plan the futures they want.
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Centralia, a Fossil Fuel Transition Success Story

And a transition model for communities like Anacortes, Ferndale, and Tacoma.
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Montana: So Close to Better Elections

Primaries featuring more choice for voters and candidates almost became the law in Big Sky Country.
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Almost One in Three Idahoans Wanted Open Primaries and Instant Runoff Elections

In the reddest patch of Cascadia, a sizable minority of voters wished for a system to thwart spoilers, promote cooperation, and allow participation beyond partisan labels.
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Oregon Elections Will Continue to Suffer Spoiler Candidates

The state’s voters rejected Measure 117 to implement ranked choice voting in the state, though notably not in places where voters use ranked choice voting locally.
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Portland Voters are Shifting into a Higher Gear

More choices mean more legwork but should lead to a more effective and representative government.
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Idaho Has a Spoiler Problem

Closed primaries exclude voters, encourage divisive behavior, and can subvert the will of Idahoans.
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What’s Different in Alaska Since Election Laws Changed

How Alaskans have responded to nonpartisan open primaries and ranked choice voting.
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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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Parking Reform Alone Can Boost Homebuilding by 40 to 70 Percent

More evidence that parking flexibility is key to housing abundance.
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Three Ways Anchorage Leaders Could Unlock More Homes

The ordinances under consideration offer commonsense solutions to address the city’s longstanding housing shortage.
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Parking Mandates Are Keeping Kids Out of Daycare

But cities can ditch these arbitrary rules and help families out of the daycare desert.
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In Race after Race, People Keep Electing Pro-Housing Politicians

Contrary to some misconceptions, most voters seem to understand that housing is good.
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To Fix Inclusionary Zoning, Fund It

Lessons from places that are solving the biggest problem in abundant housing politics and policy.
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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.
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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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Sightline news picks

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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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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

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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. 

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. 

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