'Tis the time of year to reflect – on the good, the bad, the self, and the world. In looking back on the year that was 2016, we've parsed through all the News stories and now present to you, in all their gruesome glory, the biggest political stories of the year.

While news from the U.S. presidential election and the Brexit referendum dominated our political coverage, 2016 was also a year of contentious policy, grappling with the architectural changes wrought by the evolving sharing economy and emerging technologies, as well as adapting to the ongoing threats of climate change and Flint, Michigan's water crisis. We've already published our round-up of the biggest controversies of 2016, which naturally also includes a healthy dose of political stories.

The following items were chosen considering three basic criteria: the post's high traffic, the vibrancy of its discussion section, and how important Archinect's editorial staff thinks it is to the architecture-world at large (as those first two criteria aren't always enough). All lists can be perused under the "2016 in review" tag.

Now, let's take a trip down memory lane, in reverse chronological order. Thanks for the memories... we guess.

President-elect Trump offers HUD post to Ben Carson

Carson is a retired neurosurgeon and was (lest we forget) in the running to be the 2016 Republican presidential candidate, before dropping out and endorsing Trump. Carson has zero experience in government administration, and has spoken out against government programs that "encourage what he calls 'dependency' and engage in 'social engineering.'"

President-elect Donald Trump renews pledge to invest in American infrastructure

Trump had previously promised to commit "at least $500 billion" to infrastructure spending in the next five years. Some of that might come by way of an "infrastructure bank", an idea that Hillary Clinton proposed during her campaign, but Trump hasn't released details yet.

AIA releases statement on 2016 U.S. Election results — Will Trump's relations with architects change?

The statement that set off the #NotMyAIA controversy and resulted in senior-level AIA reps apologizing and resigning.

Flint's water crisis is far from over, and the criminal charges keep coming

The investigations continue over certain Michigan-state officials' liability, regarding prior knowledge of and failure to address Flint's poisoned water. As of this posting, many residents still struggle to get safe drinking water.

Hillary Clinton campaign ad highlights architect screwed by Trump

The architect claimed that after designing a clubhouse for Trump, he was refused payment, and ultimately only received a third of the original amount billed. Clinton's video leveraged the allegation as part of the campaign's persistent attacks on Trump's business record.

Post-Brexit pessimism causes precautionary job losses

While housebuilding in the UK had previously reached a seven-year high, firms appeared to become more cautious and less optimistic post-Brexit. Several big infrastructural projects were also put on hold or delayed in the midst of the political upheaval.

Yeah, so about Melania Trump's architecture degree...

At the time of the Republican National Convention, GOP-statements and the now-incoming First Lady's own website claimed Melania had "a degree in design and architecture at University in Slovenia" — despite reports from multiple other publications that she had dropped out to pursue a modeling career. During the RNC, snopes.com debunked her claim, in the midst of additional turmoil surrounding Mrs. Trump for plagiarizing Michelle Obama's speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

Architects react to shocking EU referendum result

Leading up to Brexit, architects had largely supported the Remain campaign, leaving many disoriented by referendum's results. Archinect checked in with big and small-firm UK practitioners to get a pulse on their outlook.

North Carolina loses AIA conference due to anti-LGBT HB2 bill passage

The controversial bill required, in part, that trans and gender-non-conforming people use the public restroom that coincided with the sex as listed on their birth certificate. The mayor of Charlotte, NC called it "literally the most anti-LGBT legislation in the country," and in protest of its passage businesses and moneymakers pulled out of the state, including Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, and the South Atlantic Region's AIA conference, among others.

Protesting fingerprint checks, Uber and Lyft end rides in Austin

Cities everywhere are figuring out how to regulate sharing economy businesses, with popular ride-hailing apps Lyft and Uber chief among the contested services. Riders and drivers alike in Austin in particular — with its young, fast-growing metropolitan population and an insufficient public transit infrastructure — have come to rely on Lyft and Uber, but when the city wanted to impose fingerprint background checks for workers in those companies, the companies protested and ceased operations in the city, leaving an estimated 10,000 drivers out of work.

Dean Frederick Steiner leaves UT Austin for Penn Design due to new "campus carry" gun law

On August 1, a new state law went into effect allowing concealed handguns inside University of Texas campus buildings, prompting a clash of 2nd Amendment politics and academic philosophies at the conservative state's decidedly liberal capital-city campus. UT-Austin Architecture Dean Steiner's exit was prompted by his feeling that "I was going to be responsible for managing a law I didn't believe in." Previously, guns had only been allowed on campus, but not in buildings.

Last year was the warmest since (at least) 1880

According to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA, 2015 was the hottest year since 1880, when official record-keeping began. Why is this political news? Because in the U.S., climate change is still very much a partisan issue.