It's not that foreign in the USA. Steam plants and Co-Gen plants where steam is a byproduct aren't exactly daily drivers, but they are common enough that you've probably been in a central steam heat building if you've ever been in a city.
Can you name a locality in America that uses one? I'm genuinely curious
Have you ever seen a hobo sleeping on a steaming vent grate in the winter? That city has a steam plant.
They're all over the place, especially on the East Coast.
Anytime you watch an horror movie and they are fighting in a back alley, and you wonder why it is so randomly steamy all over the place, it isn't because the SFX just wanted to use his fog machine, they are trying to emulate what a lot of cities with steam plants look like during the winter.
I lived on Long Island for 3 years, and everyone used oil to heat their place. That's why I was confused. Most of my life has been spent on the west coast though, I will confess, so that's probably why it's such a foreign concept to me
Both NYC and Chicago use centrally metered steam heat - Chicongo uses it for residential blocks as well as commercial. Boston, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Denver, etc...
See http://waterworkshistory.us/DH/DHlist.htm
This doesn't count some co-gen or local central steam like you find on large college or medical campuses. Granted, a lot of city steam has shut down, but there are still plenty left.
Baltimore, Philidelphia, and DC all use steam heat in high rise buildings downtown to some extent.
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