Housing shortages can lead to homelessness, the rise of slums and squatter settlements, and various health and environmental issues. Homeless populations are left without shelter and must live on the streets. A lack of affordable housing also results in the development of large, illegal slum communities that lack proper sanitation and are plagued by pollution and disease. When basic living conditions are not met, residents of slums face vulnerabilities from disasters and health risks such as waterborne and respiratory illnesses.

1. Unit 3 Lesson 4
Consequences of housing shortages
CHONG BOON SECONDARY SCHOOL
SEC 2 GEOGRAPHY

2. OBJECTIVES
• Identify the consequences of housing
shortages
• Impact on urban population from
housing shortages

3. KEY CONSEQUENCES
• Homelessness
• Rise of Slums and Squatter settlements
• Environmental pollution
• Bad Health and hygiene
• Vulnerability

4. HOMELESSNESS

5. HOMELESSNESS
• Lack of shelter to sleep and carry out basic
activities
• Bathing, Having meals, Leisure, etc
• Resort to living in the streets / shelters for
homeless
• Not solely a problem in Less Developed
Countries (LDC).
• Estimates in USA, over 600 000 homeless
people every night.

6. RISE OF SLUMS AND SQUATTERS

7. RISE OF SLUMS AND SQUATTER
SETTLEMENTS
• Temporary, illegal housing built on government
land.
• Too massive to be removed / relocated
• Plagued with problems
• Bad hygiene
• Large scale pollution

8. POLLUTION

9. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
• Water pollution
• Common in slums
• Open sewage disposal in rivers
• Trash and rubbish disposed in rivers.
• Tondo slums in Philippines
• Air pollution
• Burning of materials by scavengers
• Extraction of copper from wires, burning of the plastic layers
• Widespread respiratory (lung) diseases.

10. BAD CONDITIONS

11. BAD HYGIENE AND POOR
CONDITIONS
• Overall hygiene conditions are bad.
• No potable water, no sanitation services
• Irregular electric supply
• Overcrowded conditions

12. VULNERABILITY

13. VULNERABILITY
• Badly constructed slums are prone to
destruction.
• Unsafe buildings
• Natural disasters
• Undesirable land choice (hillsides) lead to
vulnerability to natural disasters and fires.

14. SUMMARY
• What are some key consequences
of overcrowding?
• Can you give an example for each
of these consequences?
Read Pg 84-89 of your
textbook as a review