How combining city, corporate and church resources for neighborhood revitalization could become a powerful tool for struggling areas.

The neighborhood was tired.

Homes were aging. Families were leaving at an alarming rate. Many of the homes and apartment buildings belonged to absentee owners living out-of-state. Long-term residents of West Valley City — the second largest city in Utah — wanted to stay, but they despaired at the trajectory of neglect.

The complexity of the problems felt too large, too overwhelming for any one person or organization. …