But my point is that it's not just density. The daytime populations of these places can be much better than the city or even 'metro' populations suggest, because they're full of people from the surrounding towns and countryside in a way that North American cities aren't. West of the Mississippi, there probably isn't even anyone in the nearby countryside. It's empty.
I say this having just landed in Florence. The view on the approach reminds you just how densely populated every bit of flat land in northern Italy actually is. It's not all a 'metro area', but there sure are a lot more people nearby than that figure would indicate who pour into offices and shops and bars every day.
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There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge." - Isaac Asimov
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