How come there are big cities in Oregon?

I live in Vermont. In Vermont, there is a strict environmental policy, and because of this there are not many factory jobs so there are no cities in Vermont. I have heard that Oregon has a similar environmental policy, so how come they still have cities like Portland scince most cities need an industrial job base? Or is Oregon's policy more flexible?

Public Comments

1. Well, to start with Portland is a port city where they can ship stuff to and from. Vermont doesn't have any ocean ports. Oregon has milder winters, not as much snow as Vermont, so that attracts people. It's close to CA, so people who want to get away from there may just move up to OR
2. Oregon (Portland especially) has a huge number of scientific and environmental companies that cities are built around. Not every city has to be built around a factory. Also, Portland is built so that people can walk/bike/ride the bus to work to lower pollution. Therefore, people live closer to their jobs.