Indeed, they are repositories of regional differences and vernacular culture. In a world of monotonous and lookalike suburbs, cities' uniqueness provides a valuable market signature. The mix of buildings, people, and culture are mostly nonreplicable by formula. Supercharged markets, as the name implies, have obvious market potential. They maintain the advantage that cities have always held in the economy.
Supercharged markets are information rich, and are at the leading edge of new lifestyle trends.
Thus, the market power of Santa Fe and Charleston is assured. Vibrant markets also have their edge, derived from their distinctiveness, in both population and environment, from the suburbs. As such, they represent a market niche that the suburbs cannot fill. This may be even more true of newer regions where virtually the entire built environment dates from the past several decades. This may explain why some older central cities have recently become so desirable.