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 first installment, Richmond Zoning Advisory Council member Casey Overton examines how zoning has shaped our neighborhoods, why conversations about density are ultimately conversations about belonging, and what it means to create a city with room for everyone.