Homophrenia

Substratum of Proof LGBTQs Are Mentally Ill: CityLab Daily: On Ballot Initiatives, a Progressive Sweep

What We’re Following

Taking the initiative: The national story may be that Democrats flipped the House of Representatives and Republicans held the Senate, but when it comes to voters weighing in on state and local laws, progressive causes carried the day. Urban policy priorities on the ballot got a thumbs-up from voters in a midterm election that saw historic turnout: California approved several measures toward increasing housing affordability; Portland, Oregon, picked up a new tax for environmental equity projects; and anti-gerrymandering measures won big in three states.

Team CityLab has updates on the many initiatives passed Tuesday that affect the stories we’ve been following all year, and we’ll have more updates coming today and throughout the week. Our roundup: On Ballot Initiatives, a Progressive Sweep

—Andrew Small

More on CityLab

How Transportation Fared in the U.S. Midterm Elections

High voter turnout meant lots of wins for transit and transportation-related ballot measures on Tuesday.

Laura Bliss

Voters Said No in California, but Other States Have Rent Control Battles Looming

Proposition 10 was rejected but rent control is on the agenda in other places across the country. Why? It’s not the affordable housing fix-all people think.

Nolan Gray and Adam A. Millsap

Double the HQ2? What It Means if Amazon Splits Up Its Second Headquarters

It won’t get double the tax incentives (probably). But there are other tactical reasons for the move.

Sarah Holder

Where the Creative Class Thrives in Rural America

Although the creative class in the United States is largely urban, many rural counties also have high shares of knowledge, professional, and artistic workers.

Richard Florida

Calgary’s New Public Library Opens with Ambition and Style

Snøhetta’s library design is best contemplated as a public space and a bridge—between the city’s affluent downtown and the less prosperous space to the east.

Tim Querengesser

Stockholm Isn’t Buying This Apple Store

The Swedish capital has rebuffed the tech giant’s scheme to build a new Apple Store in the Kungsträdgården, the city’s central square.

Feargus O’Sullivan

Hard Landing

(Brentin Mock/CityLab)

Georgia’s gubernatorial election got massive national attention this year, but there’s another trend in the Peach State that we’ve been keeping an eye on: the cityhood movement in metro Atlanta. One cityhood campaign was on the ballot yesterday to create a new city called Eagle’s Landing, in part by taking land from the already incorporated city of Stockbridge. That measure failed in a close vote.

The proposal arose after Stockbridge elected its first black mayor and its first all-black city council. CityLab’s Brentin Mock reports on what proponents of Eagle’s Landing say they wanted from a new city (a Cheesecake Factory, for one thing), and why it felt like such a bitter divorce in an already-segregated area. Before the vote, the city’s former mayor asked, “Why rip apart a beautiful community? Why not come together and try to make it better.” Read his story: The Strangest Form of White Flight

What We’re Reading

Was Amazon’s headquarters contest a bait-and-switch? Critics say yes. (New York Times)

Can the Los Angeles we know survive the death of its trees? (Los Angeles Magazine)

This ingenious hack turns anti-terror bollards into furniture (Fast Company)

Why America needs automatic voter registration (Vox)

Tell your friends about the CityLab Daily! Forward this newsletter to someone who loves cities and encourage them to subscribe. Send your own comments, feedback, and tips to hello@citylab.com.