For years, everyone crossed the little square on their way somewhere else. Then a neighbour brought a bench to the Saturday clean-up and asked if we could find it a home.
We put it beneath the tree, facing the shops. By lunchtime someone was eating a sandwich there. The following week two people had brought a flask of tea.
There is no grand conclusion to the story. The bench is still there, and the square has become a place where it is normal to pause. Sometimes that is what a useful improvement looks like.