In The Future Once Happened Here, Fred Siegel tells the beguiling story of America's three most influential cities, New York, Washington, and Los Angeles. Amplified by their place as media capitals and nerve centers of American liberalism, these three cities have shaped how Americans view urban life. Big-city America, once celebrated for its ability to incorporate immigrants and other newcomers, faltered in the face of redressing three hundred years of racial oppression and the destabilizing impact of the 1960s riots. New York, Washington, and Los Angeles were each caught in the vortex of social policies created in the '60's and '70's and each suffered the consequences. Nevertheless, these three cities tell a complex story in which decline is not a foregone conclusion.