•  

    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.
  •  

    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.
  •  

    How to Tear Down the Invisible Walls in Your City’s Zoning Code

    10 tips for zoning reformers from a town that legalized housing.
  •  

    Americans Want to Vote As Trump Does (By Mail), Not As He Says

    Voting safely from home looks like a good option in November—and beyond.
  •  

    State-Wide Housing Solutions Matter: Talking Points

    No city can fix this alone. Affordability progress calls for state-wide coordination, with local flexibility.
  •  

    Washington State Is Talking Triplexes

    Lawmakers in Olympia could set state standards to empower WA cities to curb prices and pollution.
  •  

    A One-Stop Shop for Our Affordability Messaging Resources

    Three years of Sighline housing talking points.
  •  

    Lessons from Oregon’s Missing Middle Success

    Messaging matters! Here’s our internal talking points memo.
  •  

    Put a Friendly Face on Gentle Density

    Use our open-source photo library to help familiarize, and normalize, "missing middle" homes.
More Strategic Messaging Articles »

What you say is just as important as how you say it. Words, stories, imagery—all of these help determine the impact of the data and arguments you’re sharing. 

Sightline Institute’s strategic communications program publishes messaging guidance for leaders in Cascadia and beyond distilled from public opinion research, transcripts from speeches, and academic studies. We tackle topics ranging from zoning for equitable, affordable, low-carbon cities to elections systems upgrades to shore up a healthy, resilient democracy. And we demonstrate how values-based messaging and effective storytelling help move your audience in the ways that count.  

Meet the team

Anna Fahey, Senior Director, Communications and Campaigns. Follow her on Twitter at @afahey.
Serena Larkin, Editorial Director. Follow her at @serenalarkin.
Webster Chang, Digital Strategy Manager.

Select projects and resources 

Flashcards: Quick messaging tips on key issues 

Sightline Flashcards are quick messaging memos, distilled from new message testing, experts, and savvy practitioners, to give elected officials and advocates tools to advance policy solutions and mobilize action. From climate justice to housing abundance, fair elections to conservation, these are cheat sheets to translating tricky topics into compelling communications. View the Flashcards archive. 

More homes, in all shapes and sizes, for all our neighbors 

As cities and towns in Cascadia and beyond struggle to address their deep shortages of homes—and their resulting high prices, income- and racially-segregated communities, pollution, and homelessness—proponents of abundant housing options can elevate their messages by connecting on shared values and shared big-picture visions for their communities. Learn more.