For years we've repeated an idea almost no one questions.

That mixing housing, retail, offices and services is enough to build city. That the more complete the program… the better the project.

But if you think about it for a moment, you've probably seen it too.

Projects that have it all.

  • They sell

  • They fill up

  • They open their doors

And yet…

when you're actually there, nothing happens.

You walk, you look, you buy something… and you leave.

You don't stay.

And that detail — which seems minor — is what actually defines everything.

Because that's where the promise of mixed use starts to break down.

This isn't theory.

👉 It's what's actually happening.

And that's exactly where it's worth pausing.

Because the problem isn't mixed use.

The problem is how we're understanding it.

If you look at what the experts actually say, the concept was never "mix functions."

It was something more demanding:

  • shorten distances

  • improve connectivity

  • make the city work as a system

Now, if you connect that idea to what we just saw in practice…

the reading changes.

Because you understand why so many projects never quite work.

It's not a lack of investment.

It's not a lack of design.

It's that they're conceived as an addition… not as a relationship.

And it shows.

It shows in projects that pencil out on paper… but not in daily life. It shows in ground floors that never quite come alive. It shows in spaces with flow… but no permanence.

If you develop, you see it in absorption. If you design, you see it in how the space gets used. If you invest, you see it in value over time. If you live there, you feel it without needing to explain it.

And when you put the developer's view next to the urbanist's, the difference becomes obvious.

The developer looks at:

  • demand

  • operations

  • returns

And they're right.

The urbanist looks at:

  • connectivity

  • proximity

  • public space

And they're right too.

The problem shows up when the two views never meet.

Because you can have projects that sell well… but never build value over time.

And you can also have well-designed projects… that never get built at all.

That's why the projects that truly work pull off something far more complex:

👉 aligning the logic of the business with the logic of the city.

And that alignment doesn't start with the mix.

It starts with the place.

Look at projects like Hudson Yards, the King's Cross Redevelopment or Roppongi Hills…

and you'll see something that keeps repeating.

They don't start with a program.

They start with a node.

  • an underground metro line

  • a bus network

  • real flows of people

They're not designed so people can arrive.

They're designed from the flow outward.

And when you design from the flow…

everything starts to make sense.

Retail stops being a bet… and becomes a consequence. The ground floor stops being a risk… and becomes an asset. The mix stops being theoretical… and starts working.

Because deep down, the city isn't organized by uses.

👉 It's organized by movement.

And this is where many projects fail without realizing it.

We keep designing as a sum of parts.

When we should really be designing a system.

Functions get stacked. But they don't connect.

Spaces get organized. But relationships don't get designed.

And this is exactly where everything becomes clearer.

What actually makes a mixed-use project work?

If I had to sum it up after seeing different projects — and seeing what happens when they don't work — I'd boil it down to five clear ideas.

1. Connectivity isn't a feature… it's the foundation

A project can have everything… but if it isn't connected, it becomes isolated.

And once it's isolated… it loses its purpose.

2. Proximity creates more value than the mix itself

It's not how many functions it has.

It's how easy they are to use.

3. The ground floor decides whether there's life or not

It's where the project connects with the city.

If it fails… everything else suffers.

4. Public space is where everything actually happens

That's where you decide whether to pass through… or stay.

5. The project should reduce friction, not add to it

If moving around is costly… the system doesn't work.

And when you put these five ideas together, the reading changes.

Because you stop asking yourself what mix a project has…

and start asking something far more important:

does this project actually make life easier?

And that's where the difference lies.

Between a project that sells…

and one that actually works.

So next time you walk into one of these projects, don't just look at what it has.

Ask yourself a simpler question:

would you stay here… or are you just passing through?

Because that answer says it all.