New York is among the nation's most vibrant areas, a veritable cash cow for regional governments, but its economy will not continue to grow as long as its transportation infrastructure stays where it is.
These days, as New York grows increasingly sanitised, its famed landmarks demolished or sold off as real estate, its most vibrant areas repurposed as luxury loft apartments for hedge fund managers, that older, wilder city with its edge and attitude seems increasingly attractive.
That unlikely business plan has put Mr. Narumiya, now 67, at the center of one of the most vibrant areas of Japan's retail sector with a chain of shops selling $80 blouses and $120 skirts to fashion-conscious 9- to 14-year-old girls.
Bo-Kaap, formerly known as the Malay Quarter, is one of the most vibrant areas in Cape Town.
Fire Island is about families and extended families, and countless summer betrothals, self-governing communities, unlocked doors, outdoor living, a serene roadless place in the sun at the doorstep of the most vibrant metropolitan area in the United States.
One of the most vibrant retail areas is along Wangfujing Dajie, which is a few streets east of the Imperial Palaces.
There was another problem with the West Side: in its new location, the trade center would obliterate Radio Row, a crowded bazaar for cut-rate electronic gadgetry that was one of Manhattan's most vibrant shopping areas.
It will take awhile for Liberty Market, one of the largest and most vibrant shopping areas in Pakistan, to regain its characteristic bustle.
