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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.

Democracy + Elections

Lawmakers Across the Political Spectrum Should Help More Alaskans Vote

A host of laws to make voting easier would benefit Independent, Republican, and Democratic constituents.
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Housing + Cities

A Housing Agenda for Oregon: More Homes without Higher Prices

The usual way to get more homes built is wait for prices go up. But there is another way.
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Housing + Cities

Inside Minnesota’s People over Parking Act, with Chris Meyer

Making the case for statewide elimination of parking mandates.
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Housing + Cities

Anchorage Removes Barriers to Small Multifamily Homes

City leaders take another step toward allowing more new homes, in more sizes and varying price points, in Alaska’s largest city.
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Democracy + Elections

Washingtonians May Get a Democracy Upgrade in 2024

State leaders are considering measures to allow ranked choice voting, even-year elections, statewide democracy vouchers, and more.
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Democracy + Elections

With Ranked Choice Voting Coming to Washington State, It’s Time to Coordinate Rollout

State legislators can support local jurisdictions with streamlined implementation guidelines.
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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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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.
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A Magic Boost for Low-Turnout City Elections

Seattle’s 2024 special city council election showed just how easily local voter participation could skyrocket.
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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. 
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Election Reform Measures Lost; Election Reform Didn’t

What to learn—and what to leave behind—from the 2024 ballot measure losses in Cascadia.
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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. 
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Portland Election Delivers City’s Most Representative Council Ever

Proportional ranked choice voting lived up to the promises of the voter-approved charter reform.
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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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Unlock Middle Housing with Parking Reform

As long as parking is required, smaller, lower-cost homes are still illegal.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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A Housing Agenda for Oregon: More Homes without Higher Prices

The usual way to get more homes built is wait for prices go up. But there is another way.
Read More

Inside Minnesota’s People over Parking Act, with Chris Meyer

Making the case for statewide elimination of parking mandates.
Read More

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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

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. 

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