Drawing on research in Jakarta, this article reconsiders the importance of heterogeneous economic practices in the remaking of central‐city districts in ways that provide ongoing platforms of residence and operation for residents from wide‐ranging walks of life. The emphasis on good governance and rights‐based discourses have sometimes occluded the operations of urban real economies that, even if waning in the face of the proliferation of mega‐developments, constitute the critical capacity of the majority of urban residents’ efforts to secure a viable place in the city.