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With Flexibility Over Parking, Oregon Homebuilders Get to Work
Tens of thousands of homes are now more buildable, including several projects now resurrected that local parking mandates had previously killed.
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.
Washington Lot Split Bills Would Create Starter Homes, Support Community Stability
HB 1245 and SB 5364 advance affordability, financial security, wealth-building, and other benefits for Washingtonians in all kinds of communities. -
Washington Bill Would Boost In-law Apartments Throughout the State
Evidence is more conclusive than ever that the reforms proposed in HB 1337 are effective.
The Vast Potential of Pairing Transit and Homes in Washington State
SB 5466 could support hundreds of thousands of needed new homes closer to where residents work, learn, and recreate.
It’s Time to Stop Subsidizing New Gas Pipes
Regulators across Cascadia should end line extension allowances, the subsidies ratepayers finance that expand utilities’ pipeline infrastructure. -
New Washington Bill Would Legalize More Homes and Businesses by Transit
Eliminating parking mandates is a simple solution to a big problem.
Is There a Future for Gas Utilities? It Could Be Heating and Cooling Your Home (from the Ground)
"GeoNetworks" are being piloted in New York and Massachusetts. Cascadia should be next.
Seven Reasons Washington Needs Middle Housing
Because housing solutions are solutions for homelessness, jobs, equity, climate, and conservation. -
Washington’s 2023 Middle Housing Bill, Explained
HB 1110 addresses the state’s acute housing shortage, opening up affordable options for families, workers, and elderly and young home seekers.
New Report Charts Need for WA to Plan Ahead for Oil Refinery Closures
A spate of recent shutdowns across the US holds urgent lessons for local communities.
Sightline Institute’s Giving Tuesday Spotlights
Staff share their picks to support a brighter tomorrow. -
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.
Anchorage Assembly Unites to End Parking Mandates
Progressives and conservatives find common ground on easing regulations on housing and business development.
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. -
Uncontainable Wildfires Are Inevitable. Community Destruction Is Not.
Five policy shifts could help communities harden their homes against fire danger.
The Democracy Reforms Coming to Cascadia
A week after Election Day, we round up the region’s ballot measures and ranked choice contests.
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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SIGHTLINE DAILY
Today’s top sustainability headlines for the Pacific Northwest, curated by Sightline Institute.
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BC announces $23.4m in climate adaptation funding
The Vancouver Sun
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By 2050, WA might need to buy energy from other states
Crosscut
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OR releases updated salmon habitat map
The World Link
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Multnomah county to house homeless people in Portland
The Seattle Times
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Micro-apartments may be coming to Bellevue
The Urbanist
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Special election could bring social housing to Seattle
Crosscut
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The YIMBY vs PHIMBY battle in Seattle
The Stranger
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Wanted: An affordable home
The Lewiston Tribune
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The forgotten gas stove wars
Vox
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Five key climate solutions
RMI
Our Mission
Sightline Institute’s mission is to make the Northwest a global model of sustainability— strong communities, a green economy, and a healthy environment.
We envision in the Pacific Northwest an economy and way of life that are environmentally sound, economically vibrant, and socially just. We believe that if northwesterners succeed at reconciling themselves with the natural heritage of this place—the greenest part of history’s richest civilization—we can set an example for the world.