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“Don’t you college boys know? People don’t like hitch-hikers no more.” That’s what the state trooper told us—my friend John and me—25 years ago. We were standing in the rain, on the edge of an Ohio highway, our thumbs half extended, bedraggled from a sleepless night and unseasonably cold temperatures. Twelve hours earlier we “college boys” certainly had not known, but we had caught on in the meantime. For lack...

The rains have set in. And with the approach of the holidays, the waning of the light, and the inevitable existential angst, Northwest homeowners turn their thoughts to the season’s verities: turkey dinners, Christmas lights, and flooded basements. But not me. This season it’s all eggnog and overeating for me. (And existential angst, of course. That goes without saying.) That’s because in a fit of uncharacteristic virtue, my wife, Jill, and I embarked on a backyard...

I sort of hoped that the term “EcoDensity“—a word coined to describe Vancouver’s plan for new development within city limits—would grow on me.  But it still sounds pretty clunky to my ears. That said, it’s a pretty apt description.  If the greater Vancouver region is going to add more residents over the next few decades—as seems pretty much inevitable—by far the most environmentally friendly path is to create more housing...

In our recent Property Wrongs report, we told the story of one of the more egregious claims made in Oregon under Measure 37: a proposal to develop a mine, energy plant, and vacation homes inside a national monument. The story is compelling, but the video is even better. Check it out.

As reported by the BBC, a new study on the economic impact of climate change…. …suggests that global warming could shrink the global economy by 20%. But taking action now would cost just 1% of global gross domestic product, the 700-page study says. As usual, I have no idea if the numbers are right, or even if they’re in the ballpark. But the basic concept—providing a side-by-side comparison of the...

Hey, look! Someone else cares about the link between neighborhood design and public health! The Congress for the New Urbanism put out a big ol’ report, covering a lot of the same ground we went over in our most recent Cascadia Scorecard. The upshot—there are a bajillion ways that neighborhood design might affect people’s health; some of the connections are rock solid, while others are more speculative; and the big...

Property Wrongsis Sightline’s new report on what other states can learn from Oregon’s experience with Measure 37. It tells six stories of communities that got stuck with the consequences. Here’s another story… Jim and Sandy LeTourneux love forests and wildlife, but they’re not tree-huggers. They’re loggers. They run a timber farm in the forested Coast Range and they’ve been good stewards of the land—twice winning awards for wildlife conservation. But...

Property Wrongs is Sightline’s report that chronicles Oregon’s experience with Measure 37. It tells six stories of communities that got stuck with the consequences. **See a video version of this story! East Lake is tucked behind an ancient cinder cone in the Newberry Crater National Volcanic Monument amid Central Oregon’s pine forests and high desert. At 6,400 feet above sea level, it’s one of the highest lakes in Oregon, and it’s...

Property Wrongsis Sightline’s new report on what other states can learn from Oregon’s experience with Measure 37. It tells six stories of communities that got stuck with the consequences. Here’s one of the stories… After 50 years on the family farm, it’s time for Roy and Lois Lay to retire. And it’s about time: 87-year-old Ray is still pulling stumps on the property he loves, but he’s getting too old...

Way back in April, Sightline launched the quest for a walkshed map that would tally and locate all the businesses within one mile of your front door (plus, ideally, things like public restrooms). It would be a Rosetta stone for the newly car-less–a digital Fodors for the pedestrian set. (With its instant quantification of the walkability of each home, it could also be a real-estate game changer. Imagine if realtors,...