From an article about public art in Crain's:
http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/mag/article.pl?article_id=27189
Controversies arise when people's expectations are violated in one of three ways. The first has to do with location. In urban environments, people have expectations about the constellation of people, objects and behavior based on their previous experience with that place.
[snip]
The fact that it can't be ignored ... also increases the probability of controversy.
[snip]
... attachment to the place. The more people value the place, the higher the probability that any modifications will be met with scrutiny. It's arguably more important than whether the elements of the landscape match the work.
And, from another article in the same issue of Crain's:
http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/mag/article.pl?article_id=27188
Chicago now requires 1.3% of a municipal building's construction budget to be spent on art for the site.
[snip]
All this spending benefits the commercial market as well. The art serves as an elegant backdrop not only for government buildings, but also for commercial office towers and residential properties.
[snip]
Indeed, art has become a selling point for commercial and residential developers. "It fosters a sense of community and a sense of creativeness," says Michael Maier, vice-president of sales and marketing for MCL Cos., a Chicago developer.
