Kindred Campers: The Alternative Pre-Bridgeheader Migration Stage of Low-Income Migrants in Jakarta, Indonesia

The Government of Indonesia (GoI) has been facing problems in providing affordable houses for Indonesian low-income peoples. Research on the housing preferences of low-income people is important in order for the GoI to understand and be able to provide affordable housing that meets the needs of low-income people. According to Turner (1968a), the housing preferences of low-income migrants is largely influenced by economic factors, so Turner divides low-income migration into three stages: namely the bridgeheader, land consolidator, and status seeker. But the question arises as to whether it is possible for first time low-income migrants to arrive and live in the city centre directly, without any prior experience? If not, then is there a stage before the bridgeheader stage? If it is, then what are the first-housing preferences of low-income migrants? This paper critiques Turner’s theory of the low-income’s migration stage, that there is a possibility of stage before bridgeheader, we call it ‘kindred campers’.