Quote of the Week: Mixed-Use Logic

Cities haven't always been organized this way. In fact, for most of history, they mixed homes with factories, businesses and shops...  The term mixed-use is a product of the fact that for the past 50 years we've experimented with forbidding mixed-use...  Pioneering mixed-use in a completely car oriented environment is not a particularly wise move. Where it makes sense is where you already have significant foot traffic or critical mass - in downtowns or older suburban settings.

Rick Cole, Ventura, CA City Manager (link)

I love the fact that we as a society have to come up with terms to define things that historically are very normal.  Mixed-Use is now viewed as some sort of building pattern that is experimental but in reality it's hte primary building type that humans did for a few thousand years.  Another term that comes to mind is organic.  What is organic compared to?  Conventional. Conventional produce is grown with lots of man-made chemicals and fertizers while organic is grown the way humans have grown for 8,000+ years.  Hmmm....