Public realm

Planners lean on this term because it shifts attention from objects to setting, and public art people should borrow the habit: a work's success depends on the realm around it (sightlines, seating, lighting, foot traffic) at least as much as on the work itself. The same sculpture reads as a landmark on a well-used square and as surplus inventory in a windswept plaza. When a piece "isn't working," the honest diagnosis often belongs to the space, not the art.