Episode 3 of 3 in our Zoning SeriesIn this final episode of our three-part deep dive with urban strategist Mike Hathorne, we shift from diagnosing the problems with zoning and density… to exploring the solutions. And the biggest solution is one most people misunderstand: mixed use. To explain it, we start with a simple metaphor—pizza. Modern zoning forces us to eat pizza one ingredient at a time: dough here, sauce there, cheese somewhere else. No wonder it tastes terrible. Mixed use is what happens when the ingredients actually come together the way they always have throughout history.Mike and I unpack:

• What mixed use really means (horizontal vs. vertical, organic vs. regulated)
• Why every beloved historic town on Earth is mixed use—even if people don’t think of it that way
• Why so much modern “mixed use” feels fake or Disneyfied
• The difference between authentic vs. formulaic development
• Why master-planned mixed use often fails
• How to build neighborhoods that evolve flexibly with the market
• Why walkability and human-scale design naturally produce better places
• How mixed use strengthens community, wellbeing, and human flourishing
• Why real estate must become a community-building tool instead of just a financial vehicle

We also talk about authenticity, human-scale design, why new developments feel shallow, how cars changed everything, and why the most successful mixed-use communities grow incrementally, not all at once.This episode closes the loop on zoning, density, mixed use, and the deeper truth beneath them all: our built environment shapes us—and we can choose to shape it back. If you want to feel hopeful about how American neighborhoods can improve, this is the episode.