Over the last few months, one of the most banal architectural spaces—the public restroom—has been at the forefront of a national civil rights debate. In late March, North Carolina passed the Public Facilities Privacy and Security Act (also known as House Bill 2) requiring that in public buildings, people use restroom and changing facilities that correspond to the sex listed on their birth certificate, not their gender identity. The bill was approved in fewer than 12 hours.
The backlash was just as swift. PayPal abandoned plans for an expansion into North Carolina. Companies including Apple, Google, and American Express followed. Bruce Springsteen canceled a Greensboro performance. The Justice Department sued the State of North Carolina. Even the AIA South Atlantic Region—comprising Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina—jumped into the fray, relocating its triennial conference from Wilmington, North Carolina, to Savannah.
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