Many city and suburban planners have held to a position where all like buildings go in one area and other like buildings go in another. So all museums and cultural institutions go in one area, shopping goes in another, nonretail businesses in another, and housing elsewhere yet. This kind of development decreases pedestrian traffic and increases automobile traffic.  Less pedestrian traffic makes the street less safe.

A more responsible view of development that more and more city planners are using is the mixed use model that Jane Jacobs describes in her groundbreaking book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities.  Mixed use development means that a neighborhood has mix of shops, office apartments, and homes. Most types of retail should be within a 10 to 15 minute walk.

Mixed use development also includes diversity of building types, which adds to the aesthetics of the neighborhood.  It also promotes development that is on a human scale, with trees and other green space planned into neighborhood development.