Program's controversy has raised the profile of placemaking. Yet how has Calgary fared in designing its public space?

Sitting in his home studio located just south of the city, Derek Besant chuckles when asked to score Calgary's efforts at developing its public spaces.

It's like asking an artist to judge his own work.

The local artist's work is familiar with many Calgarians, having designed the iconic six-metre tall balancing-chair display dubbed Homage that has sat outside Mount Royal University's student union building since the late 1980s, as well as the Enigma exhibit that once stood at the school's east entrance.

New rules will see spending capped, more people on art jury

The City of Calgary is making changes to its public art policy following a controversial $471,000-project Mayor Naheed Neshi has called "awful."

Under the old policy, the city's "per cent for public art" was calculated at one per cent of the total capital project costs for City capital budget projects over $1 million. The new policy will see the same spending level for projects under $50 million, dropping to 0.5 per cent on projects in excess of $50 million.