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
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Alaska’s open primary flipped the campaign script
In his book ‘The Primary Solution,’ Nick Troiano shows why other states might consider following Alaska’s lead on switching to nonpartisan open primary elections.
Audit Stretches to Find Trouble in Portland’s Affordability Mandate
Should people who qualify for subsidized housing get to have home offices? And other odd questions.
Bellingham’s Parking Reform Pilot Pays Off
Old Town’s first new building project has more than double the number of homes and less parking than the city’s old code would have allowed. The rest of the city might follow suit.
Seattle Deserves a Better Comp Plan
The city can make three critical fixes to its 20-year growth plan: Let middle housing be bigger, allow apartment buildings in more places, and legalize car-free homes everywhere.
Aging Solutions Are Climate Solutions
Adapting communities to better serve growing elderly populations also makes those places more climate-resilient. A new book charts the path to making this connection.
Boise’s New Zoning Code Sparks Surge in Permits for ADUs
Rules about who can live in them and where they can park were key barriers to backyard cottages.
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.
One of Washington’s Anti-Climate Initiatives, 2066, Eked Out a Victory. Why?
And how leaders can still help families and businesses electrify for safer, cleaner buildings in line with the state’s climate values.
Four Ways Gov.-elect Ferguson and Washington Lawmakers Can Build on the State’s Big Climate Win
After Washingtonians overwhelmingly voted to keep the Climate Commitment Act, their leaders have powerful opportunities ahead.
Correcting the Record on Initiative 2066
What the Seattle Times editorial board got wrong about the Washington ballot measure.
The Contradiction of a Split Vote on Washington’s Anti-Climate Ballot Initiatives
Initiatives 2066 and 2117 are closely linked, but polls and endorsements diverge.
(Re)explaining Washington’s Climate Commitment Act
Understanding the cap-and-invest law that Washington Initiative 2117 would repeal.
All You Need to Know About Alaska’s 2022 Special Election
FAQs on the extra-special special election.
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.
Political Leadership for Abundant Housing
St. Paul councilmember Mitra Jalali, Former Oregon House Speaker and gubernatorial candidate Tina Kotek, Washington state representative Jessica Bateman, and moderator Conor Dougherty (New York Times) discuss housing advocacy at local and state levels and how focusing on real people and their stories can unite coalitions around a common cause.
Portland Charter Commission Unanimously Advances Reform Proposals in Preliminary Vote
Voters could approve changes to the city’s elections and form of government this November.
Some of the Big Questions Left for Portland’s Charter Commission
The commission has a few loose ends to sew up before proposing ballot measures.
Our Maps Shouldn’t Lie About Our Votes
County-based red and blue breakdowns show numbers of acres, not voters. But in a democracy, it’s the people that should count.
Four Ways Context Matters for Wildfire News Coverage
Reporters can help people see the forest, even when the trees are on fire.
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.
The Best Wildfire Solution We’re Not Using
Three ways to curb the sprawl that traps us on a wildfire treadmill.
Building Healthy Organizations and Sustainable Movements
Henry Honorof (Welcoming Neighbors Network), Jesse Kanson-Benanav (Abundant Housing Massachusetts), and Sarah Weber-Ogden (Sunrise Movement PDX) share their insights into how to set up organizations for longevity and success.
Inclusionary Housing in Portland: A Dial, Not a Switch
Vivian Satterfield (Verde) and Cassie Graves (Portland Housing Bureau) discuss the impacts of lifting Oregon’s ban on inclusionary zoning in a YIMBYtown 2022 panel.  
What Do Housing Providers Have to Say about Zoning Reform and City Policies?
In this YIMBYtown 2022 session, Julia Metz (Catholic Charities of Oregon), Paul Del Vecchio (Ethos Development), and Preston Korst (Habitat for Humanity Portland Metro) discuss how zoning and other reforms affect how much and how fast they can build new housing.
Parking Reform: From Theory to Practice 
The principles of parking reform are straightforward, but the politics can be another story. Four changemakers from both in and outside of government share their stories of how they won victories for using city space more efficiently.
Political Leadership for Abundant Housing
St. Paul councilmember Mitra Jalali, Former Oregon House Speaker and gubernatorial candidate Tina Kotek, Washington state representative Jessica Bateman, and moderator Conor Dougherty (New York Times) discuss housing advocacy at local and state levels and how focusing on real people and their stories can unite coalitions around a common cause.
Thumb on the Scale: Our Housing Systems and How to Fix Them
Jerusalem Demsas (The Atlantic), Jenny Schuetz (Brookings Metro), Allan Lazo (Fair Housing Council of Oregon), and moderator Vivian Satterfield discuss the need to rethink our exclusionary housing systems and the community engagement process in order to reshape these systems and their outcomes.
Video: Housing Solutions Are Climate Solutions
In 90 seconds, how zoning for more home choices in our cities helps affordability and cuts climate pollution.
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.
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.
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.
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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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.
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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.Â
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.
