My city just spent $2 million on a street art festival, and the murals have genuinely cut vandalism reports by a third. But local business owners are split — some say the art brings foot traffic, others claim it makes the area look unprofessional and hurts property values. I used to think graffiti was just noise, yet watching these pieces change how people treat the neighborhood makes me wonder if we've been wrong about what counts as public art. Can art actually reduce crime, or is this just a temporary honeymoon effect?