I can't remember where I read this, but somebody once said something like, "If there were a conspiracy to kill the streetcars in favor of automobiles, then it w

I can't remember where I read this, but somebody once said something like, "If there were a conspiracy to kill the streetcars in favor of automobiles, then it was a conspiracy conducted with the enthusiastic support of the American public." Transit enthusiasts and urbanists -- I'm both -- love any narrative that says that suburbanites have been tricked into their living arrangements by nefarious outside interests, but in fact this is what Americans have more or less demanded.