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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

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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Democracy + Elections

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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Democracy + Elections

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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Democracy + Elections

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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Democracy + Elections

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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Climate + Energy

Lessons for Washington State Leaders as Another US Oil Refinery Closes

In a state home to five oil refineries, a forthcoming, taxpayer-funded study can answer some central questions.
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Oil Refinery Profits, Taxes, and Spending: A Primer

The refining industry pays surprisingly little in taxes considering its massive profits.
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Two Possible Futures for Northwest Oil Refining

One bleak, one hopeful, both dependent on our choices today.
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Environmental Justice Advocates Lead Oregon to 100 Percent Clean Electricity Future

A just transition is picking up legislative wins in Salem.
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The History of Northwest Refineries

Oil refining on Puget Sound is inextricably tied to the history of colonialism.
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The Case for Retiring Northwest Oil Refineries

It is impossible to meet our climate targets without refinery retirement.
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Cascadia’s Carbon Budget

Current legislative emissions goals are not consistent with limiting warming to 1.5 degrees.
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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.
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Hey, Olympia! If You Let Them, Cities Could Double Turnout in Local Elections

The case for freeing Washington cities to run elections on Election Day.
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Voters Want Fewer Elections: Here’s How to Do That

California, Arizona, and Nevada have shifted to even-year elections, boosting turnout and saving money—with lessons for other states.
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Alaska’s Midterm Elections Yield Mixed Results (But in a Good Way)

In the state’s first full ranked choice election, the same pool of voters elected candidates from across the political spectrum.
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The Democracy Reforms Coming to Cascadia

A week after Election Day, we round up the region’s ballot measures and ranked choice contests.
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Alaska Primary Voters Had More Choice in 2022

A larger, more diverse, and competitive candidate pool coincided with the introduction of 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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What Does It Take to Pass Statewide Zoning Reform?

Brian Hanlon (California YIMBY), Mary Kyle McCurdy (1000 Friends of Oregon), and Alex Brennan (Futurewise) discuss recent zoning bills in their respective West Coast states and what it takes to build coalitions for legislative wins.
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Turning Environmentalists into Housing Advocates

Because “housing retention is climate work.”
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Gender, Sexuality, and Abundant Housing: Addressing Housing Precarity in the LGBTQ Community

Nancy Haque (Basic Rights Oregon), Esme D. Miller, Dan Reed, and moderator Sarah Mirk discuss the role that gender and sexuality have played—and continue to play—in access to affordable housing.
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Winning Abundant Housing: The UK, Germany, and France

It’s not just national vs. local control. It’s also the incentives for local authorities.
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The Present and Future of ADUs and Other Homes in Our Backyards

Kol Peterson (Accessory Dwelling Strategies), Annie Fryman (Adobu), Eli Spevak (Orange Splot), and Stewart Hulick (Urban Nest Realty) discuss what’s new in the world of ADUs and other backyard homes in a YIMBYtown 2022 panel.
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How First Nations and YIMBYs Are Changing the Housing Game in Vancouver, BC

Squamish Nation Council Chairperson Khelsilem and Abundant Housing Vancouver’s Danny Oleksiuk discuss a novel approach to homebuilding that benefits the Squamish First Nation community.
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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. 

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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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