Alan Durning
Alan Durning, executive director, founded Northwest Environment Watch in 1993, which became Sightline Institute in 2006. Alan’s current topics of focus include housing affordability and democracy reform.
He has also written about parking, Making Sustainability Legal, car-free living, bike-friendliness, electric bikes, and climate fairness. Alan has written or contributed to nine Sightline books, including Unlocking Home: Three Keys to Affordable Communities, Cascadia Scorecard 2007, Tax Shift, Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things, and the award-winning This Place on Earth: Home and Practice of Permanence. Prior to founding Sightline, Alan was a senior researcher at Worldwatch Institute. There, he studied the human dimensions of sustainability and wrote the award-winning book How Much Is Enough?, as well as chapters in seven State of the World reports and articles in hundreds of other publications.
A sought-after speaker, he has lectured at the White House, major universities, and conferences on five continents. In addition to his passion for sustainability, Alan is a music fiend and a lover of outdoor pursuits, especially mountaineering and cycling.
He has also written about parking, Making Sustainability Legal, car-free living, bike-friendliness, electric bikes, and climate fairness. Alan has written or contributed to nine Sightline books, including Unlocking Home: Three Keys to Affordable Communities, Cascadia Scorecard 2007, Tax Shift, Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things, and the award-winning This Place on Earth: Home and Practice of Permanence. Prior to founding Sightline, Alan was a senior researcher at Worldwatch Institute. There, he studied the human dimensions of sustainability and wrote the award-winning book How Much Is Enough?, as well as chapters in seven State of the World reports and articles in hundreds of other publications.
A sought-after speaker, he has lectured at the White House, major universities, and conferences on five continents. In addition to his passion for sustainability, Alan is a music fiend and a lover of outdoor pursuits, especially mountaineering and cycling.
Alan Durning
Alan Durning
Latest articles
Climate Is Stuck, Housing Isn’t
Why apartments may be the most powerful domestic climate move of the Trump years.
Why apartments may be the most powerful domestic climate move of the Trump years.
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A Two-Word Fix for Alaska’s Ballot Confusion
Letting parties tag their nominees would make Alaska’s elections clearer, fairer, and harder to hijack by disingenuous candidates.
Letting parties tag their nominees would make Alaska’s elections clearer, fairer, and harder to hijack by disingenuous candidates.
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No More 48-Candidate Races
Reasonable filing fees would help voters, parties, and serious contenders alike in Alaska and Portland.
Reasonable filing fees would help voters, parties, and serious contenders alike in Alaska and Portland.
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Will an Electoral Glitch Send a Republican to Patty Murray’s Seat in 2028?
Washington’s top-two primary elections can misfire—but there’s an easy fix.
Washington’s top-two primary elections can misfire—but there’s an easy fix.
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Election Reform Measures Lost; Election Reform Didn’t
Find audio versions of Sightline articles on any of your favorite podcast platforms, including Spotify, YouTube, and Apple. Sooner or ...
What to learn—and what to leave behind—from the 2024 ballot measure losses in Cascadia.
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The Curious Case of Voters’ Pamphlets
A secret, nonpartisan chance to better inform voters.
A secret, nonpartisan chance to better inform voters.
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Proportional representation in just three (brutally hard, agonizingly slow) steps!
In an old Irish joke, a lost traveler hollers to a farmer in a field for directions. The farmer ponders ...
Is there a better way to get there in the United States?
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When Do Cities Hold Elections?
A US dataset on election consolidation.
A US dataset on election consolidation.
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The Bizarre Red-Blue Politics of Election Consolidation
And the chance for stronger democracy it creates.
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The Bizarre Red-Blue Politics of Election Consolidation
Proposals for election consolidation (moving local elections to the same November ballot as national elections) come from Republicans in red states and Democrats in blue states—a rare pattern of role reversals.
And the chance for stronger democracy it creates.
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The Election Calendar Is Cheating Idaho and Montana Voters
But neighboring Wyoming offers a solution.
But neighboring Wyoming offers a solution.
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In Every Washington City, Odd-Year Elections Crush Voter Turnout
And state law keeps it that way.
And state law keeps it that way.
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