American cities are clustered differently than European ones, it's not something that can be easily quantified, it really takes some time looking at the maps to

American cities are clustered differently than European ones, it's not something that can be easily quantified, it really takes some time looking at the maps to understand what I am talking about, as it doesn't seem like my explanations are doing the job. Looking at the footprints this way is simplistic but maybe helpful: https://external-preview.redd.it/W-GAALExjeE8w0aXg7Kh0gOAHclrQI4UfO66FLIs80o.png?auto=webp&s=566105aea1c5222daa42bacc2c28d95a32b202ac https://external-preview.redd.it/W-GAALExjeE8w0aXg7Kh0gOAHcl... For example, Paris is one of Europe's largest cities and yet it has a footprint comparable to Cleveland, a city with less than 1/5 the population. Meanwhile, the population density of Ohio is over 5 times as high as France. I never said high speed rail is impossible, just that there are a unique set of challenges in developing such a network in the US. I'm a huge fan of public transportation and HSR, we just need to be realistic and pair it with smart urban/regional development.