Enter parenthood, exit neighborhood: inquiry into the place attachment of young married couples in subsidized apartments

This study aims at identifying and understanding the perception level of the housing conditions of young married couples when entering parenthood and their reasons for leaving or extending their residence in their currently occupied apartment units. Place attachment, which plays a key role in placemaking for young married couples, as prominent tenants, comprises their perceived satisfaction with physical features and social connectedness in apartments in Jakarta. The study, which takes a mixed-methods with embedded quantitative-emphasized design approach, shows that many young married couples with preadolescent children extend their residence in their apartments due to the unit’s suitability with their housing preferences and tenurial security, and due to dual homeownership. Others, however, opt to leave due to a poor social environment and management quality, which decrease the strength of social connectedness among tenants. The results suggest that social connectedness and its strength play a formidable role in terms of supporting place attachment to an apartment in Jakarta.