The City Mouse and the Country Mouse

I remember being read a book in grade school about a country mouse who visits his cousin, the city mouse, and after working through all of their differences, the moral is that they are more similar than they had originally thought. Which was happy nonsense but I liked it.

Our city mice and country mice are very far apart from each other politically – this we know. But I had no idea to what extent.

I came across these amazing maps over at The Atlantic in a post by Richard Florida (quotes below cited from Dave Troy)…

98% of the 50 most dense counties voted Obama. 98% of the 50 least dense counties voted for Romney.

At about 800 people per square mile, people switch from voting primarily Republican to voting primarily Democratic. Put another way, below 800 people per square mile, there is a 66% chance that you voted Republican. Above 800 people per square mile, there is a 66% chance that you voted Democrat.

Pretty stark. And now the question becomes whether the growth of cities within red states turns those states purple and then blue. Is there any way that this trend reverses as the population of America continues to urbanize?

Source:

TheAtlanticCities