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Collection: Best of Sightline's blog

The Best of Sightline in 2017

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2017 was a big year. We dedicated even more time researching solutions to create affordable housing in Cascadia and watched a few neighborhoods in Seattle adopt major upzones with affordability requirements. British Columbia expanded its existing carbon tax to cover more pollution and to raise its price. And the Thin Green Line only grew stronger. The continent’s … Read more

A 2017 Flashcards Flashback!

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At Sightline, we know that no matter how the data stack up, a smart policy solution is only as persuasive as our ability to convey why it matters. Words matter! We help you find the words—and stories, images, and values messages—to go with your solutions. We dig through piles of academic research, polling data, and expert … Read more

Top Ten of 2016

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Today, we’re looking back at our top articles from 2016. It’s worth remembering the inspiring wins that happened during a difficult year. We took a deeper dive into housing and urbanism research, continued our work on stopping coal, oil, and gas infrastructure in the Pacific Northwest, exposed the financial instability of the coal industry, and … Read more

2015’s Five Fave Flashcards

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From the Pope’s encyclical to the Paris climate talks to steadily growing traction for a price on carbon pollution, and in communities across the region where people are saying “no” to coal and oil infrastructure, folks in our neck of the woods have been talking about climate change more than ever! And you’ve been savvy about it too, arming yourselves with tested … Read more

Top 10 of 2015

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Wow, what a big year for Sightline! We helped pass a historic democracy reform initiative in Seattle, dove into urban policy issues to create more affordable housing, and continued our fight towards making polluters pay in Cascadia and beyond. Plus, the Thin Green Line grew stronger than ever this year, thanks to Sightline exposing  the … Read more

2014’s Five Fave Flashcards

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Sightline’s messaging memos—Flashcards—cover all kinds of sustainability topics and best practices in strategic communication, from storytelling techniques to smarter ways to frame government and taxes. We draw on all kinds of research and experts. But this year, our audiences of professional communicators, electeds, and advocates have told us—with their clicks—that their favorite Flashcards in 2014 … Read more

The Top 14 of 2014

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2014 was a big year for Sightline, inside and out. We took deeper dives into family-friendly urban policy, money’s influence on our democracy, and making polluters pay for their carbon pollution. We also continued our leading research on coal and oil exports out of Cascadia; traffic trends, transit funding, and rideshare safeguards; and a number of other key topics for promoting sustainability across the Northwest. And you, dear reader, you dove right in with us! Thanks for a great year of wonking out, and cheers to 2015! Now a look back at your faves:

14. Bertha vs. the Bus: As Seattle prepared to vote on key funding for King County public transit earlier this year, a snappy infographic from Jennifer Langston proved a jaw-dropping comparison between the cost of digging a single foot of Seattle’s doomed tunnel and that of funding a better transit system.

Lynchburg, VA, Derailment by LuAnn Hunt
Lynchburg, VA, Derailment by LuAnn Hunt (All rights reserved, used with permission.)

13. New “Safer” Tank Cars Were Involved in Lynchburg, VA, Oil Train Fire: In which we saw (again) that no, Big Oil and rail companies’ claims about their industry’s safety do not in fact hold up.

12. Why Bakken Oil Explodes: Eric de Place explains why that particular strain of Dakota-originated oil rolling through our backyards and along our shorelines is exceptionally flammable.

11. Bad News for Ridley Terminal: They say bad news sells better than good news, perhaps especially when it comes to a major coal export facility in British Columbia.

10. To Revitalize Downtowns, Tax Land Speculation: Yes, something with the subtitle “5 reasons to love land-value taxes” was one of your most read articles of 2014. We’re proud to nerd out with the best of ’em.

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Top Blog Articles of 2013

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Every January, we take a look back at the top traffic blog articles of the prior year. 2013 was an exciting year: we celebrated our 20th anniversary; we released an e-book, Unlocking Home, on affordable housing opportunities hiding in plain sight; we called out self-proclaimed “green” PR and law firms shilling for Big Coal; we started to analyze the taxi vs. rideshare debate; we launched the first comprehensive look at the burgeoning oil-by-rail industry; we decimated the financial reputation of coal companies like Ambre Energy; and so much more.

This garnered us a great deal of media attention, drew new subscribers to our newsletters and social media platforms, and translated to a lot of traffic on our blog, all of which make us feel pretty special.

But enough boasting. You came here for a countdown, and a countdown you shall have. Our top ten blog posts of 2013 were as follows (there’s a drum roll for this somewhere…):

SSTI conditions and performance chart
USDOT VMT forecasts by SSTI

10. Traffic Forecast Follies: Clark looked at research out of the University of Wisconsin showing that the US Department of Transportation has been making the virtually identical vehicle travel forecasts for well over a decade—forecasts that project rapid and incessant growth in vehicle travel for as far as the eye can see. Meanwhile, actual traffic volumes have flattened out and may actually be falling.

9. Olympia’s Whacked Out Transportation Priorities: Catchy name, frustrating topic! Jennifer Langston compared the Washington Senate Majority Coalition’s transportation package to what the public itself reported want, as represented in a public survey by the Washington State Transportation Commission. Complete with an illustrative chart, the differences were mystifying.

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Top Ten (Sightline) Hits of 2012

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Photo: Blue Bike against Tree in Portland, Credit Kaptain Amerika
Photo credit Kaptain Amerika

Okay, we knew lots of you were into bikes, and it shows. But, more generally, it looks like Sightline readers simply favor posts about getting around. As we close out 2012, we’re taking a look back at the most popular Sightline articles of the year. The upshot: bikes reign, but you’re also reading plenty about public transit, traffic trends, mobile food vendors, and even road porosity. The outliers? Clotheslines and coal exports. Here’s the roundup:

10. How Not to Forecast Traffic: How One Washington State Transportation Council Misuses Statistics (April 9). Clark Williams-Derry breaks down the erroneous traffic projection practices of the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council for the route between Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA.

9. Look Who’s Taking Coal Money: The Face of the Coal Industry in the Northwest (December 13). Our readers aren’t so excited about “getting around” when it comes to transporting coal through our communities and exporting it through local ports. This exposé by Eric de Place drove exceptional site traffic on the day of its publication and sparked a region-wide conversation about the public relations firms working for the coal industry in our neck of the woods.

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Top 11 of 2011

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Nord Alley party from above, Mira Poling, International Sustainability Instiutte

What a year! And one of the best ever for Sightline’s blog. We’ve been through a complete redesign of the site and emails, introduced new issues, and penned over 380 posts that were read over 400,000 times. Thanks for sticking with us—it’s our readers (all 176,162 of you) who made 2011 such a success.

It’s late December, so ’tis the season for year-end roundups. Here’s a look at the top 11 Sightline blog posts of 2011:

1. Alley, Alley In Come Free: Alyse Nelson’s photo essay of alleyway transformations has the honor of our most viewed post this year—and why wouldn’t it? Stunning images reveal how little-used alleyways can be reclaimed for community space.

Photo by Lanefab, used with permission.

2. Home, Home on the Lane: Speaking of alleys, BC planner and Sightline board member Kamala Rao shares four great things about Vancouver’s booming laneway houses. Converting traditional garage spaces into single unit dwelling creates “hidden density” via small, green homes that are down-right adorable.

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