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[Residents] might also ask why the city insists on ever-taller buildings and doubling or tripling density in single-family zones with accessory dwelling units, even though planners say current zoning has plenty of capacity. So declared the Seattle Times editorial board, parroting one of the most persistent and ubiquitous arguments made during zoning debates far and wide, a rallying cry in neighborhood preservation circles not only in Seattle but in cities...

Note from Alan: As I explained previously, Washington’s Initiative 732 has divided climate hawks so deeply that even writing about it is a task we undertake with trepidation. (To get a sense of the landscape, please read the introduction to the first article in this series.) Organizations and individuals we respect and have collaborated with for decades—indeed, many personal friends of mine—are on opposite sides of the controversy. Sightline has...

Tiny houses may be the darlings of the green-living set—with their own blogs, TV shows and documentaries, and cottage industry of builders, planners, and consultants. But they’re usually illegal. Across Cascadia, to pass legal muster, residential structures must comply with one of three sets of rules: building codes, manufactured home codes, or recreational vehicle certification. They also must comply with zoning codes, which dictate not how they’re built but where...

Editor’s Note December 2016: Great news! BMW ReachNow car-sharing service has expanded its fleet to Portland with 360 vehicles and added 330 vehicles to its fleet in Seattle. We’ve updated the numbers below: Last month, BMW launched its car-sharing brand ReachNow in Seattle, expanding into North America from its half-million-member stronghold in Europe, and I’ll admit that even I, a car-free bike commuter, felt a little dzzzzt of mid-life thrill as I downloaded the...

Editor’s note: This article is Sightline’s very first from our new senior researcher, Dan Bertolet. We’re thrilled to have him on board to help both continue and expand our work pursuing smart solutions to our region’s big questions on housing and urban growth. Read his full bio here, and follow him on Twitter at @danbertolet. Cascadia’s three largest cities have all sworn themselves devotees of the accessory dwelling unit (ADU)—also known...

Serena The excellent local blog Seattlish called out a KIRO Radio host for poking fun at folks who use public transit in their dating endeavors (as part of an argument against the city’s smart new restricted parking zones). Seattlish then proceeded to crowdsource a bunch of sweet stories about people who used public transit and car2go and other rad car-free urban modes to find romance. Awesome. And I’m happy to...

Tarika In Portland on Saturday, a tanker truck of gasoline crashed into a parked train. In photos, such as the one below, the resulting fire can be seen blazing a few hundred feet from a liquid natural gas storage tank. The images are a strong statement on the safeguards we should consider as we experience growth of the oil and gas industry in Cascadia. The nearly 50-year old storage tank,...

Kristin Lessig raised $1 million and is running as a referendum presidential candidate to Fix Democracy First. His “Citizen Equality Act” mirrors Sightline’s democracy work! It aims to embody the idea that, in a democracy, every citizen is equal, using a three-pronged strategy: (1) every citizen has equal freedom to vote, (2) every citizen should get equal representation in Congress, achieved through multi-member districts and ranked choice voting (sound familiar?),...

When my husband Jason and I planned a trip to Vancouver, BC, we decided to bring our family’s bikes just in case. With our eight-year-old son Orion in tow, I wasn’t sure we’d have the chance to ride unless we sought out an off-street trail. To my surprise, we were able to ride—and not just on trails we had to drive or take a bus to, but through the heart...

Editor’s Note 6/23/2015: A SUV driver recently killed a pedestrian in Portland. Eight days earlier, a driver under the influence killed a jogger. A series of fatal bike collisions and pedestrian deaths in Portland concerned citizens and prompted a protest ride to hold the city to its Vision Zero commitment. Portlanders are saying enough is enough. Sightline profiled Portland’s Vision Zero commitment earlier this year, and the urgency of the plan’s goals has only grown greater since....