Comment Re:Geography != Population density (Score 1) 925
Granted, the numbers I provided were simplified but the result remains clear. Let's apply the 50% figure - we still come out with 3,302 duckets per square kilometer in the US vs 17,265 duckets per square kilometer in Japan. Further, having been to Japan and Korea there is still a lot of countryside, particularly in mountainous regions where you'll find little else except a temple here and there - miles away from anything else. So the 17,265 duckets would be a low number for populated areas in Japan, but I'll leave it be for now.
Even in cities, population density is consistently higher in Japan and Korea. This is less a result of all the land being used up, but rather cities tend to be located between mountains and other geographical features that limit the ground area a city can cover, so they have to build up rather than out. In the US, it's much cheaper to keep building out and out and out, spreading those duckets over a far greater land area whatever way you slice it.
Even in cities, population density is consistently higher in Japan and Korea. This is less a result of all the land being used up, but rather cities tend to be located between mountains and other geographical features that limit the ground area a city can cover, so they have to build up rather than out. In the US, it's much cheaper to keep building out and out and out, spreading those duckets over a far greater land area whatever way you slice it.
