This time, the collaboration launched by the Salt Lake Chamber is driven less by fear of collapse than by the belief that good things are happening and that they should take full advantage of the moment. They are calling it, realistically, Downtown Rising.

Given the number of construction cranes already dotting its skyline, it is clear that downtown Salt Lake is, literally, rising. The Chamber has counted up $1.5 billion worth of development plans for the city's core over the next five years.

Of course, about $1 billion of that is the part that's been keeping everyone on tenterhooks for years - the plans by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to redevelop the two downtown malls it owns, Crossroads Plaza and the ZCMI Center, along with other property in the neighborhood, into a new mix of retail, office and residential uses.

It's the opportunity for the rest of downtown to play off that giant project, as well as the need to mitigate the disruption that may be caused by years of construction work, that has motivated the Chamber, the Downtown Alliance and their allies to seek both expert opinion and public input in developing a vision for the wider area.

The Second Century Plan, launched in the early 1960s, responded to downtown decay with, most memorably, grand plans that included a lot of public expenditures - the Salt Palace Convention Center, for example.

The Downtown Rising plan will likely be more conceptual in nature, envisioning a certain mix of land uses and noting the parts, such as transportation improvements, that are the government's job. Reality will develop as market forces bring actual money and concrete into action.

Now, before the cash flows or the concrete pours, is a good time for everyone to chime in with what they think would be best for the core, not only of Salt Lake City, but of the county, the valley and the state. Start on the Web, at http://www.saltlakechamber .org.