That’s because the average town in Britishland has clearly-defined boundaries, where Town Planning forbids any kind of development outside those limits.
Here in the Land Of Da Free, our towns sprawl all over the fucking place, and (e.g. in Plano) you can drive around all day, not see a business of any kind, and still technically be “in town”.
The Germans, of course, have it down pat. If you take the Ausfahrt off the Autobahn to, say, Stuttgart, you just follow the signs which say Zentrum and you’ll end up in the main business center of town.
Which, by the way, the Brits with their love of inscrutable acronyms refer to as the “CBD” (central business district), only they don’t always use street signs to direct you there. You get downtown by guesswork and luck. Don’t ever stop and ask for directions, because the local yokels think it’s great fun to send you into a series of one-way streets and cul-de-sacs (which is what signs do say, and not “dead ends”) until you wish Hitler had got the job done and flattened the place, back during the Slight Disturbances Of The Early Forties.
Not that I’m bitter about it, or anything. When you finally get there, it’s all worth it.
…right up until you try to find parking.