This book investigates the role of inter-urban and international economic networks in shaping regional development and global economic geography. Nicholas A. Phelps, a professor of urban planning and economic geography, utilizes a framework that moves beyond traditional state-centric or city-centric models to focus on the 'interplaces'—the connective tissue of corporate networks, supply chains, and institutional linkages. He argues that economic activity is increasingly defined by the spaces between established urban centers, requiring a new analytical approach to understand contemporary spatial organization.

Experts in economic geography recognize this work as a significant contribution to the study of relational space and network theory. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which is intended for scholars and advanced students of economic geography and urban studies.