The campaign group suggested the best way forward was "to nurture what is unique about the town - its historic character and riverside location".

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Going the digital route has certainly been a growing trend -- 3M recently launched a Cloud Library lending service while one Austrian town kicked off its own unique e-book repository based on stickers equipped with QR codes and NFC chips.

ENGADGET

Big city dwellers do the same thing only in reverse when they take a drive into the country to shop in a quaint little town in search of something unique to buy or an off-the-beaten path restaurant.

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On the other side of town in the Enge neighbourhood is one of the city's most unique and history-packed hotels, the 60-room B2 Boutique Hotel and Spa, located in the former Huerlimann brewery building, which dates from the 19th Century.

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But it is not just the universities that cherish their unique natures - despite both boasting absorbingly historic colleges, churches, libraries and museums, the nature of each town is quite unlike the other.

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