The document discusses the causes and consequences of housing shortage. It defines housing shortage as when there is insufficient housing available to accommodate the population in an area. It lists the key causes of housing shortage as population growth, high birth rates, competing land use, and limited land supply. One of these factors, high birth rates, is then explained in more detail. The consequences of housing shortage mentioned are homelessness and the formation of slums and squatter settlements. Ways to mitigate the consequences, such as the provision of public housing, are also briefly touched on.