The thing is , for both of those countries , a huge region has no inhabitants . Over 50 % of Canadians live south of the Washington Oregon border . Over 50 % of Russians live to the west , and 76 % live in cities . Over half the land of the country has a population density below 3 people per square mile . In the US , population densities remain higher while also having a higher urbanization . We ' re just fitting more people in a smaller area than those countries . But our population centers are spread across the country massively , unlike CanadaRussia where they ' re clustered . This alone forces the need for major roadways , like the interstates . Basically , we have enough people and enough land area that we just can ' t concentrate things . Having a lot of people and small landmass means shorter distances for travel in general . Having higher landmass but fewer people means things are heavily concentrated in the cities . Having little of both results in no population centers . Having a lot of both means you have many population centers , and they start having to share amenities because they can ' t ALL have a Targetfull grocernice movie theater .