Public art installations in city centers often get dismissed as vanity projects, but I've watched a vacant lot in my neighborhood turn into a gathering spot after a local sculptor placed a steel arch there. The piece didn't just decorate the space—it gave people a reason to stop, talk to strangers, and reclaim an area that used to feel abandoned. Critics say this is just gentrification paint, and maybe sometimes they're right, but I've seen actual community events form around that arch. Should we judge public art by its aesthetic value alone, or by what it does for the people who live with it every day?