July 27: Public art seeks Common Ground at convention | Keeping peace | Why affordable housing is unaffordable to build

It’s DNC Day 3, Philly, and we’re halfway there. Stay tuned to NewsWorks’ Decision 2016 page for all things convention week.

What makes the good life? What is truth? Artists are using the DNC as an opportunity to ask life’s big questions, reports Kevin McCorry. For an installation at The Free Library, which also went to the RNC, Philly artist Meg Saligman is asking people to “vote for the good life” in a search for some common ground amid our fragmented politics.

Despite some tense protest moments in the streets this week, the goal for the Philadelphia Police remains this: keep the peace and avoid arrests. That stance finds Will Bunch looking at the evolution of Philly policing and the differences between two South Philly guys: Frank Rizzo and Jim Kenney. Kenney told Bunch, “I’ve been stopped by more people with Bernie T-shirts, telling me that our police officers are interactive, kind, helpful, [and] decent with them and they’re really engaging with the people out there protesting.”

Speaking of criminal justice: How can Philadelphia reduce its prison population? At a panel discussion held by The Atlantic Mayor Jim Kenney argued that the best way for Philly reduce its jailed population is by fighting poverty harder and doing a better job supporting education, David Gambacorta reports. It’s cheaper to spend money on a child in Pre-K than it is to incarcerate someone in a local jail.

For those wanting a break from so much DNC-ness: Shakespeare in Clark Park kicks off tonight with The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

We often wonder why affordable housing is so unaffordable to build? The Urban Institute published an interactive simulator this week to demonstrate how expensive building affordable housing can be. Go on and see what does and doesn’t pencil out.