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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

It’s (Past) Time for British Columbia to Legalize Roommates

Another piece of the puzzle to make housing more affordable in the province—and keep up with southern neighbors Washington and Oregon.
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Farms + Forests

What’s Misunderstood about Indigenous Cultural Fire Is Sovereignty

Lessons from the Karuk Tribe.
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Democracy + Elections

The Election Calendar Is Cheating Idaho and Montana Voters

But neighboring Wyoming offers a solution.
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Democracy + Elections

Nonpartisan Open Primaries Let Alaskans Choose Values Over Party

More than half of voters in the 2022 midterm primaries split their tickets between candidates from across the political spectrum.
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Housing + Cities

Washington’s 2024 Short-Session Housing Wins

Three innovative bills carry forward the momentum of 2023 and complement its measures to legalize less expensive housing.
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Climate + EnergyFossil Fuel Transition

Washingtonians Will Soon Enjoy Cleaner Heating and Cooling Options

HB 2131, to allow thermal energy networks, unanimously passed in the 2024 legislative session. It’s a win for consumers, the climate, pipeline workers, and electric grids.
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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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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.
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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.
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Correcting the Record on Initiative 2066

What the Seattle Times editorial board got wrong about the Washington ballot measure.
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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.
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(Re)explaining Washington’s Climate Commitment Act

Understanding the cap-and-invest law that Washington Initiative 2117 would repeal.
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Montana’s Plurality Problem

Political gamesmanship and the spoiler effect prevent majority winners in some of the Treasure State’s most impactful elections.
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Despite Candidate Dropouts, Alaska Elections Are Becoming More Competitive

A dozen candidates removed themselves from 2024’s general election, but voters still have plenty to choose from.
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Ranked Choice Voting Already Passed Its First Test in Oregon

Benton County and Corvallis transitioned smoothly to the revised method.
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A Guide to Alaska’s November 2024 Election

Ranked choice voting for president and other offices, plus deciding on whether to keep open primaries and ranked choice voting.
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An “Incredible Explosion in Participation”

Democracy Vouchers have fast unlocked a much larger, more diverse group of political donors, says scholar Jennifer Heerwig, who will speak at Town Hall Seattle on October 17.
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Open Primaries and Ranked Choice Voting Strengthened Moderate Republicans in Alaska’s Legislature

Fewer hardliners won office, leading to an overwhelmingly bipartisan Senate majority, a hard-fought win on education funding, and the ability to neutralize culture warriors.
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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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BC Election Results Show Public Support for More Homes

While the most pro-housing parties didn’t win big support from voters, they pulled the conversation toward a more housing-abundant policy future for the province.
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How Portland’s Form of Government Makes It Hard to Find Parking

Transportation commissioners come and go, but policies to free up curb space remain perpetually stuck at City Hall.
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Shifting Gears

Why communities are eliminating off-street parking requirements—and what comes next.
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Big Reforms, Big Growth: Buffalo’s Parking Rewrite Pays Off

A Q&A with one of the planners behind the mid-sized NY city’s successes.
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The Ambitious Housing Plans at the Center of Vancouver, BC’s, October Election

No longer a political third rail, parties are vying for votes with big promises to build abundant homes in one the world’s priciest cities. They could set a gold standard for North America.
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Troutdale Says Tax-Funded Housing Project Has a Problem: Too Many Homes

The county’s affordable housing provider proposes 94 homes near Troutdale’s downtown. The city is holding it to a rule that would cut that to 70 to make more room for parking.
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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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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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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. 

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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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