Downtown or the central part of cities (as it is called in some places) also serves another purpose, a central location for city life .a.k.a. - museums, theatres, eating places, pubs, clubs, hotels - a whole ecosystem revolves around it. This applies not only for tourists but occasionally also for city dwellers who just want to head out into the city to enjoy the sights and sounds. There is a clear energy and pulse that comes with living in a downtown and working in it. The bonding that one used to have in a corporation (for all its capitalistic ills - which people profess) at least used to hold people together. Virtual rooms can only offer a semblance of what we used to have. The downside is that people are likely to be even less attached to their company and would be more prone to leave at the earliest low hanging fruit. Its no surprise that Contract work is on the rise - and has been for sometime. Would the corporation survive in the form we know it?