Your Voice Shapes This Work — Let’s Keep Building Together

While City Council and Committees met earlier in the week to conduct the city’s business, the snowfall that blanketed our streets on Friday forced the closure of most City offices. The official meeting summaries have not been fully released.

And last week, while many Richmonders were traveling, cooking, or catching up with family, our post about Richmond’s Planning Commission vote captured something powerful about who we are as a city and what we’re capable of shaping together.

If you missed last week’s post — Against “Anywhere, USA”: How Dedicated Residents Are Preserving the City's Soul— it told a story bigger than policy. It highlighted neighbors who stood up and said, This is our Richmond, and we’re not handing its character away.

Residents didn’t speak because they feared change, they spoke because they wanted a say in it. They showed that community identity isn’t just a feature of a city, it’s a responsibility we share.

And this week, we want to carry that energy forward.

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Why this moment matters and why your voice does too

Our neighborhoods stay walkable, historic, vibrant, and uniquely Richmond not by accident, but because of the character and persistence of the people who advocate for them. We heard that in comments from across the city:

• Church Hill North residents urging the city not to forget neighborhoods “teetering on the edge of losing their historic charm.”

• Fan neighbors saying “Please don’t Fairfax the Fan!” to defend sunlight, scale, and street life.

• A Grace Street couple who stayed through decades of change because they believed in its potential and proved revival is possible through presence and patience.

• Preservationists, Black historians, planners, and teachers reminding us that Richmond’s story is more than architecture, it’s memory, belonging, and identity.

These weren’t just public comments. They were acts of ownership. Acts of agency. Acts of stewardship.

Exactly the kind of everyday leadership Voice !t was created to amplify.

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This space works best when you’re part of it

We don’t publish recaps just to inform, we publish them because democracy is richest when we learn together, reflect together, and act together.

So this week’s invitation is simple:

Read last week’s post — and then tell us what resonated.

Did you see your neighborhood reflected in those voices? Did something surprise you?

Did it spark a question, a concern, or an idea?

You don’t need permission to participate: your lived experience is the expertise this space exists to uplift.

Leave a comment.

Share a perspective.

Add a missing piece.

Ask a question others might be holding too.

This isn’t a one-way newsletter: it’s a shared civic table.

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Your voice belongs in this conversation

Whether you've spoken at the mic, written to Council, or engaged quietly from your inbox, you are part of what keeps Richmond from sliding into “Anywhere, USA.”

The Commission vote confirmed it, but our future will continue to depend on the character of neighbors who show up, speak up, and look out for the places we all call home.

So, in case you missed it, here’s your nudge:🗣 Catch up on last week’s post and join the discussion.

We’ll be reading, responding, and learning from you.

Because this isn’t just Richmond’s history.

It’s Richmond’s story — and we write the next chapter together.