Mixed-Use: More Than a Building Type, it's the DNA of Human Settlement

Mixed-use isn’t a building. It’s a pattern. That’s the key message in PlaceMakers’ latest blog post, where Scott Doyon argues that mixed-use should be seen as the DNA of human settlement, not just “shops below, homes above.”

“It’s not a buzzword. It’s the default operating system of human civilization,” he writes.

The piece urges planners and developers to stop thinking of mixed-use as a trendy product and start seeing it as a timeless approach to walkability, flexibility, and everyday life.

As Doyon puts it, “If that feels unfamiliar or threatening, it’s only because our 20th-century deviation lasted longer than the memory of what cities and towns actually are.”

For communities seeking connection over convenience, this is a must-read mindset shift. Starting with the mural pictured below from Atlanta’s BeltLine that "manages, in a single frame, to pack in just about every misunderstanding plaguing 21st-century urbanism."