This study examines how low-income communities in the Jakarta Metropolitan Area (JMA) navigate housing decisions across urban, suburban, and semi-urban contexts. Drawing on spatial ethnography and data from 87 informants across 13 areas, the research addresses three key questions: (1) How do socio-cultural factors influence housing preferences and selection among low-income groups? (2) What implications do these socio-cultural considerations have for housing design? and (3) How can these socio-cultural factors and their design implications be incorporated into housing policy frameworks? Findings reveal that decisions are organized around social networks, proximity to livelihoods and schools, room for home-based enterprises, religious and communal space, and incremental expansion. These elements underpin a persistent preference for landed housing and explain weak acceptance of many rusun (vertical housing) programmes. The study identifies policy gaps–including rigid zoning, limited support for varied typologies, and weak participatory planning–and proposes a demand-driven, culturally responsive housing framework that integrates structure, culture, and process to guide inclusive housing design and policy in JMA and comparable regions of the Global South. © 2025 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.