The places we call home are shaped by the policies and investments we choose to prioritize. As Richmond works to update its 50-year-old zoning ordinance through Code Refresh, Southside ReLeaf is asking a simple but important question: What kind of community are we trying to build?

To explore that question, we've invited partners working in housing affordability and community development to contribute to a three-part guest blog series on the relationship between housing and zoning in Richmond. In the second installment, HOME of VA Policy Advocate Annika Schunn explores what decades of research tell us about the relationship between new housing, displacement, and affordability. The blog also examines why zoning reform alone isn't enough, and why preventing displacement requires a broader commitment to policies that help longtime residents stay rooted in their communities.