Richmond is always transforming. Through our ups and downs, there’s continuous change, uncertainty, and possibility. The new issue of Richmond Grid, now on stands, documents the stories of transformation—people and places that were in a constant state of growth—over the past year.

We begin our spring issue with the story of Six Point Innovation Center, a newly renovated 4,000 square-foot building in Highland Park that offers neighborhood youth access to the arts, urban ecology, public history, ad-vocacy, and more. Here, multiple nonprofits collaborate to provide resources and education that encourages teens to become changemakers for their community. Through a series of photos by Dean Whitbeck, we feature refugees in Richmond whose contributions will forever enrich the future of our city. Community members from Myanmar, Republic of Congo, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria are featured in Whitbeck’s photos, serving as a reminder of their courage, resilience, and determination.

In this issue, we also feature a series of photos by Katrina Boone as part of her effort to document dancers in Richmond and their personal journeys, photos from the Valentine of Latinos establishing permanent ties to their new homes in Richmond and how they’re transforming our culture, and photos by Nick Davis documenting local entrepreneurs who are taking risks and growing their small businesses in Richmond. Marc Cheatham writes about Girls

For A Change, a nonprofit supporting girls of color, in this issue as an example of the bright future ahead when we work together to create lasting change in neighborhoods, cities, and schools. As Girls For A Change grows its mission in the year ahead, organizers will provide before- and after-school support in areas of computer science, entrepreneurship, and coding. We’re also proud to offer the Downtown Development Guide and the Downtown Dining Guide, in collaboration with Venture Richmond, to showcase changes to the Richmond landscape taking place from 2017 to 2018. The Development Guide details $1.66 billion+ in investments, 2,184+ luxury apartments, 1.35 million+ SF of commer-cial space, 794,000+ SF of medical space, new transportation options, and more.

We hope our new issue encourages readers to continuously change the way they think, lead, and respond. May it also serve as a reminder of how much transformation we still require.