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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

Washington Bill Would Legalize Low-cost “Co-living” Homes

Co-living is an affordable, flexible, community-forward type of housing that serves diverse needs for people in all stages of life.
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Climate + EnergyFossil Fuel Transition

180 Sites Account for a Quarter of Cascadia’s Carbon Pollution

The region has a lot more cleaning up to do, even in its greenest corners.
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Democracy + Elections

One Year In and One Year Out: An Update on Portland Charter Reform

For followers of democracy reform, Portland offers a rough blueprint.
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Housing + Cities

How Parking Ratios Kill Homes

A string of mistakes in one city shows how easily local rules can turn arbitrary and destructive.
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Sustainable Living

Sightliners’ 2023 Giving Tuesday Recommendations

Empower strong communities today with your support.
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Climate + Energy

Is the Permitting Process for Transmission Lines Really Broken?

Analyzing three common claims of malfunction, plus proposing a new, faster way forward for the Northwest.
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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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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.
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The Election Calendar Is Cheating Idaho and Montana Voters

But neighboring Wyoming offers a solution.
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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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On Even-Year Elections, Trust Voters—and Evidence

Vastly higher turnout in even-numbered years drowns out down-ballot drop-off, and more representative results indicate voters have the information they need.
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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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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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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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We Ran the Rent Numbers on Portland’s 7 Newly Legal Home Options

Here are the three options we think can start to be built today – and five things we learned from this math.
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States Must Reform Zoning Because No City Can End a Shortage Alone

The core issue: When a city couldn’t fix a problem even if it tried, it has no reason to try.
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Yes, Other Places Do Housing Better, Case 3: Paris

The world’s most improved city for abundant housing in low-carbon neighborhoods
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Momentum Builds for Provincial Action on the Housing Shortage

Expert panel recommends pre-emption of local barriers to new homes in British Columbia
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Washington’s 2021 Legislative Session Marks Historic Investment in Renter Relief

In the wake of the pandemic, legislators prioritized rental assistance and tenant protections.
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Portland’s New Design Rules Could Kill Housing—But They Don’t Have To

Housing projects are 20 times more likely to face design appeals than non-housing projects. Design regulations don’t have to work this way.
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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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