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 Legalized Most of the New Homes in Buffalo and Seattle

Studies from two very different cities showed the same result.
Read More

Housing + Cities

Anchorage Adopts Model ADU Reforms

Alaska’s largest city just deregulated bonus homes in a big way, a step to right-sizing its housing options to locals’ changing needs.
Read More

Democracy + Elections

Ranked Choice Voting Would Help Oregonians Vote for their True Favorite

HB 2004 in Oregon’s House of Representatives could bring voters more voice and more choice.
Read More

Housing + CitiesMessaging + Strategy

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

Climate + Energy

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

Housing + Cities

Habitat for Humanity Goes All In for Multifamily Housing

But it needs relaxed parking mandates, widescale zoning reform, and public funding to make the most of the opportunity.
Read More

1…1718192021…478

King County Sets the Standard for Clean Energy Financing

The Council synced up a creative financing tool with county climate goals.
Read More

The Danger of the Marine Vessels that Serve Refineries

Every transportation method carries the risk of environmentally catastrophic oil spills.
Read More

Corporate Climate Commitments: 2021 Update

Read More

The Danger of the Pipelines and Trains that Serve Refineries

Every transportation method carries the risk of environmentally catastrophic oil spills.
Read More

Direct Impacts of Northwest Refinery Pollution

Refinery air and water pollution negatively impacts human health and local wildlife.
Read More

Oil Refinery Workforce 411

Refinery workers are well compensated and clustered in Whatcom and Skagit counties.
Read More

1…678910…236

Summer Recap: Changing Portland’s City Charter

Where ballot measure 26-228’s reforms stand, less than two months from Election Day.
Read More

When Cities Switch To One-Winner Council Districts, Housing Growth Plummets

Housing growth drops 20 percent, on average, in cities making the sort of switch proposed by Portland’s Commissioner Mapps.
Read More

In Seattle, Courts Might Reject Approval Voting . . .

. . . but not Ranked Choice Voting.
Read More

No, Approval Voting Would Not Start Sooner than Ranked Choice Voting in Seattle

Either one would likely launch in August 2025.
Read More

What Peltola’s Win Can Teach Alaska (and America)

Lesson #1: The electorate is not binary.
Read More

Compare Cheney and Murkowski’s Political Fates—It’s All About the Primary

Forget the general election for a moment. It’s how we run primary elections that decides who’s even a contender.
Read More

1…89101112…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.