Cities are described in terms of chessboards, in which every player has a different function, from health food stores to cultural meccas, but the diversity leads to community strength. Quite sensibly, Jacobs points out that if residential areas are 'decontaminated' and cultural sites are shifted to other city areas, residents of the city will cease to frequently use these locations, the institutions' living cultural uses will decline, and tourists and museum-piece events will take over to target one-time users (168-169). Jacobs wrote her work as a challenge to the stultifying ethos of urban planning of her day, which attempted to predict the movements of people, and create a cohesive appearance rather than to let the natural, discursive nature of urban life to work its magic. Highly regimented urban planning also isolates lower-income individuals within their own enclaves, removing them from the vibrant opportunities and enrichment of the commerce...
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