In a sense, there are two layers described in this book. One layer is our collective outer self, as defined by the buildings we construct. The other layer is our collective inner self, on some level related to these physical manifestations. America is vast, and in the 20th century we developed our transportation infrastructure to suit the automobile. To a great extent the highway system that supports the individual car is a product of incentives from the federal government. We drive; by and large we do not take the train or the bus, and we definitely don't walk. This is not “new” news; it is just not good news. In this book, data are presented that suggest that in many instances our bigger is better mentality has failed us. In the United States there are problems in commuting and lack of community, in educational achievement, in health (specifically obesity), in work–family balance, and in the malling of America.

Although this book focuses on buildings, beneath the bricks and mortar is a sense that Americans crave something they think they have lost, and they aren't sure how to retrieve it. What they seem to have lost is a sense of togetherness, and perhaps a sense of safety that comes from that connection. The absolute size of our nation has something to do with this loss, as does the infrastructure of roads and highways, and the creation of suburbia.