To study the town or to live in a town are two different things. Towns should be built for those who live in a town.
From a bird's-eye view, towns are built for birds.
Architecture that is superficially perceptible on an urban walk, is useful for the pedestrian, the passer-by, the city user.
The «superficial» architecture is used for the orientation in the urban space, consequently for making the town one's own.
An unimportant building can get more attention than an important architecture which presumes to be well known, because perception is faster than the recourse to preconceptions.