Backfill: Welcome to California Gardens

The average American enjoys about 540 square feet of indoor living space, while the average resident of Shanghai, China, makes do with just 43 square feet. But if a company called New China Homes has its way, that gap may soon begin to narrow. The company believes that China’s rapid industrialization and recently relaxed economic climate means that many of the country’s 1.2 billion inhabitants can now dream of owning a home — a home that the Cayman Islands-based company would be only too happy to provide. New China Homes has already created what it bills as China’s first affordable, suburban “lifestyle” homes. The townhouse development, called California Gardens, is located 8 miles from Shanghai’s central business district, and offers such