During the midterm elections earlier this month, Americans across the country voted not only for candidates they felt would best represent them at the local, regional, and national levels, but also for—or against—the measures that should be taken to improve their towns, cities, and states. Here are some of the initiatives that could affect designers, architects, and planners from coast to coast.

In New York, rent control and retail ruled.

Issues of rent control have been a stick in the craw of many New York City residents (and landlords and politicians) for decades. A current law prevents city officials from overriding rulings set in Albany, but the city's affordable housing crisis will surely demand attention from the state legislature—now handily under a Democratic majority—which will vote next year on all laws that affect the city’s affordable housing stock. The Democratic-leaning group is likely cast their ballots for stronger tenant protections.

Long Island City, New York.

As we now know with certainty, one of Amazon's two new East Coast headquarters will be located in Long Island City in the borough of Queens. The reelection of Andrew Cuomo is largely considered to be part of what sealed the deal. Cuomo was a prime advocate for going after the bid, promising generous state subsidies to the e-tailer. The e-tailer's move to Long Island City will result in massive renovations and construction as well as transit and other infrastructure updates to the neighborhood.

Miami approves a Major League Soccer stadium.

An aerial-view rendering of Freedom Park.

Miami residents approved what was probably the sexiest—architecturally speaking—referendum on a ballot during the midterm elections. David Beckham's Freedom Park passed with 60 percent of the vote, ending competitive bidding for the property. The 73-acre complex includes a $1 billion soccer stadium designed by Arquitectonica that will be home to Major League Soccer team Inter Miami CF. A 750-room hotel and one million square feet of office, retail, and commercial space are reportedly also on the roster, along with a 58-acre public park.

Michigan will fix its damn roads.

A residential street in Detroit in 2017.

Michigan gubernatorial winner Gretchen Whitmer wants to fix her state's extensive infrastructure problems. “[O]ur roads are so bad they cost the average driver more than $540 a year,” she wrote on her campaign website, “and none of that fixes a single pothole.” But Whitmer, whose memorable campaign slogan was “Fix the Damn Roads” aims to solve more than that. Her pledge to enact a comprehensive, statewide infrastructure plan includes overhauling public transit, bringing Detroit (where a downtown building is named for her father) back to life, and solving the state's woeful water issues.

Austin, Texas, wants human-centric design.

Austin residents voted to expand the city's trails system, upgrade bike lanes, and rehabilitate sidewalks.

Typically, when ballots present voters with transit funding, it's for highways, railroads, buses, and so on. In Austin, voters supported a proposition that will fund some such improvements, but also expand the city's trails system, upgrade bike lanes, and rehabilitate sidewalks. The measure exemplifies a stance on human-centric design, which some forward-looking designers say is critical to developing vibrant, healthy cities of the future.

Austin's voters didn't stop there. They also overwhelmingly approved funding for building and maintaining affordable housing; improving and acquiring property for cultural facilities; and upgrading parks and recreation centers.

Californians vote for more housing help.

San Francisco voters support increasing available supportive housing.

In San Francisco, the city will begin to levy a tax on companies that generate more than $50 million in revenue annually in order to fund supportive housing . (A similar tax was recently passed—and quickly repealed —in Seattle.) Statewide, voters approved funding for housing-related programming for veterans as well as construction and improvements for children’s hospitals.

RELATED: Major Bridges Around the World Are Collapsing—Here's Where the Risk Lies