Actually no, it's amazing one. This is how markets have been for thousands of years, within walking distance of the homes of the people using them. But yet it isn't compatible with modern "advances" like zoning, parking lots, and NIMBY driven politics.
Zoning, in particular, is a terrible scourge on communities. It's hard to overstate the social damage caused by making it essentially illegal to build a functioning "village". I would go so far as to assert that it essentially shreds the fabric of society, both directly (by robbing people of shared local activities and context), and indirectly (by forcing everyone into cars to get anything done, where they can't interact with one another).
If you've ever lived in a town where shops, parks, living quarters, and government buildings are cheek-by-jowl within walking distance, a "zoned" area feels like a desert - unable to sustain life.
