[lostctown]

This can't be stressed enough. Large swaths of the US population would immediately become immobile. I think OP has never lived and worked in a rural area, say 30 miles outside of the nearest town, where survival depends on your ability to transport yourself.

[eivindga]

Great point!

Except that the population density of the US is almost double that of Norway. (We definitely have our share of rural areas...)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_depend...

[maxerickson]

The density people live at is the interesting figure.

Of course it's quite high in the US, what with the population being concentrated on the coasts.

[Simulacra]

In a way, the invention of the automobile made our lives worse. It meant grocery stores and services could be placed further and further away, stretching out areas rather than condensing them.