Now that Mormonism seems to be in decline, with a potentially rapid slide in front of it, what will be the impact on the cityscape of Salt Lake City?
I've never been to Utah, but I imagine that the City is built around its key Mormon monuments and offices (and malls). As the religion becomes less relevant to the city, what physical changes can be expected in the central precincts?
As an extreme example of what I am thinking of, consider how Berlin changed with the fall of the Iron Curtain. Areas once separated by the Wall became re-connected, dead areas became extremely vigorous, land values changed and massive redevelopments occurred.
Much less dramatic in Salt Lake I'm sure, but there will surely be impacts. No doubt, also, the city would feel the loss of jobs and revenue if church finances really started to dry up.
Speaking strictly for Salt Lake City (and not the metro area as a whole)...
If the Morg implodes, the land that is currently Welfare Square would be snatched up in a heartbeat and developed for housing, which would in turn boost the value of property surrounding it (the west side of the city), which is one of the poorer parts of Salt Lake.
Temple Square would probably remain relatively untouched for its historical value, but City Creek would end up an office park.
With the decrease in active membership already affecting the amount of meetinghouses in the city, many of those would be closed before a full collapse.
It would be more interesting to see what a Morg implosion would do to Provo & Orem, which are far more dominated by church property.