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1. Introduction
Fulfillment of adequate housing for the poor is the key to attain sustainable cities and communities’ goals in the sustainable development goals, yet, it is one of the main issues faced by urban areas in Indonesia (Mujahid, 2021). The percentage of Indonesia’s urban population has risen from 49.9% in 2010 to 55.9% in 2019 and is expected to rise to 66.6% by 2035 (BPS/Central Bureau Statistic of Indonesia, 2020). A high rate of population growth encourages higher demand for housing, causing problems related to a shortfall of residential housing plans, termed as backlog, which also commonly occurs in developing countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Philippines (Jabeen et al., 2015; May et al., 2008; UN-Habitat, 2011). Not only in number, the problem of housing is also in terms of its quality, especially for low-income communities/masyarakat berpenghasilan rendah (MBR). Many MBR who do not have enough financial capacity, but have been working in the city, end up living in suburban areas or inadequate but affordable houses. Whereas occupying a decent house is the right of every level of society as stated in the Indonesia 1945 Constitution and Law no. 39. Therefore, the Indonesian government has to be able to meet the needs of both the accessibility and affordability of “decent” houses for the poor, especially in the Jakarta metropolitan area, the center of the economy and the capital city of Indonesia.
Housing development in urban areas is one of the major projects contained in the 2020–2024 National Medium-Term Development Plan/Rencana Pembangunan Jangka Menengah (RPJMN). Based on the 2020–2024 RPJMN, the government is targeted to decrease the housing backlog number to 5 million units. To satisfy the target, the Indonesian government distributes housing loans/Kredit Perumahan Rakyat assistance to low-income communities and establishes a national program for the construction of one million houses annually where 700,000 of them are targeted for MBR.
At the same time, there are many low-income households in urban areas that chose to live in the suburban areas or inadequate but low-priced houses inside the city. Owing to the high price of lands and houses in urban areas, many overcrowded-indecent housings provided by the private sectors emerge in the city. This is because handing over decent...