PR China vs UK vs Iraq

PR China: With sprawling housing developments and state-of-the-art skyscrapers, the outward impression is of a bustling metropolis. But look closer and the so-called Kangbashi New Area of the Chinese city of Ordos is anything but teeming with people. Known as the ghost town district of the wealthy mining city, it was built to house a million residents.

But [fewer] than 30,000 live in this spanking new town, the construction of which started in 2004. Yet it is filled with state-of-the-art infrastructure and stunning architectural structures like the Ordos Museum. There are many reasons why people have stayed away, soaring property prices being the most cited...

UK: People in Wales and England are less satisfied with their lives than people in Scotland and Northern Ireland, the first national well-being survey says... People living in built-up or former industrial areas, such as South Wales, the West Midlands or London, tended to be less happy, while rural areas, such as Orkney and Shetland, and Rutland, in the East Midlands, were the happiest...

A higher proportion of adults who owned their own property, either outright or with a mortgage, reported a medium/high level of life satisfaction - about 80% - than those who rented or had other kinds of tenures (about 68%).

Iraq: Baghdad needs 750,000 new homes to make up for a massive housing shortfall, Iraq's investment commission chief said on Sunday as he called for bidders for a new property development project.

Iraq is aiming to build one million new homes in the coming years, including a vast construction project southeast of Baghdad that officials hope will provide new housing for 600,000 people.