Mixed-Use Living

Having studied Jane Jacobs in college and graduate school, I was thrilled to see her ideas get attention in “In New Urban Villages, City Living Becomes Trendy” (Nov. 19). Every vibrant urban community that I can think of has the mixed-use elements discussed in Jacobs’ “The Death and Life of Great American Cities” in 1961. It is a great misfortune that it has taken 40 years for Jacobs’ theories to take root in Southern California. Had this been otherwise, we likely would not have the many bland suburban communities and the traffic congestion that plague Southern California today.

Bennet G. Kelley

Long Beach