A Complete Community Is All Mixed Up A complete community includes an optimal mix of people, activities, and transport modes in each neighborhood. Like a chef, planners need the right ingredients. Here is the recipe. Todd Litman | March 15, 2021, 9am PDT Share quiggyt4 A city is a place where many people and activities occur close together, which facilitates the exchange of goods and ideas. The secret to success is to mix things together to create complete communities. Urban planning often focuses on density, the number of people or activities in a given area, but equally important is land use mix, the diversity of people and activities in an area. To use a sports metaphor, density provides strength and power, a necessary foundation, while mix is akin to skill and finesse, which is what makes a community interesting and successful.