1. There was once a time where few transportation choices made it almost impossible for most people to live outside of walking distance from their jobs.

2. The original streetcar system was designed to get people out of the city. People didn't like living in close quarters, and the streetcar provided a cheap link to the suburbs, thus earning the nickname "streetcar suburbs."

3. With the advent of the personal automobile, many more people escaped the crowded city (by choice) to live in the low density suburbs.

4. Because the automobile was cheaper and more flexible, and because buses were also cheaper and more flexible, streetcar demand diminished. All lines went out of business.

5. Businesses started moving out of downtown core and closer to where people lived (the suburbs).

6. Buses started losing money as well, so the government decided to bail them out (the beginning of social engineering in Oregon).

7. Government comes up with junk theories such as "peak oil" to justify the lack of roadway expansion, lack of suburban expansion, and the expansion of a failing transit system and highly subsidized condo farms. METRO is created.

8. People and business escape to Clark County, the only place in the metro area that Portland has no control over.