Exorbitant housing prices have created an acute shortage of affordable housing for the poor.

过高的房价使穷人负担得起的房源严重短缺。

《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》

Henry Pryor from HousingExpert.net said the plan could be the most controversial change to the planning system since the War though a "potential solution to the acute housing shortage we have at present".

BBC: Property planning rules to soften

The spur to the rethink is the acute shortage of affordable housing, particularly in London and the south-east.

ECONOMIST: Social housing

One reason for optimism is that the Bharatiya Janata Party, which controls the national government, also governs Mumbai and Delhi, where the housing shortage is most acute.

ECONOMIST: Housing finance in India