From the Introduction:
Well swept, regular straight roads, flanked by small trees providing shade divide up this neat little suburban residential area. Concrete sidewalks enclose the countless houses, mostly cheap wooden construction, and their lawn. Streetlights at the regular intersections provide lighting at night, giving the potential residents an additional measure of safety.
The houses themselves are still bare skeletons though. Their interior is still mostly empty, except for the wooden beams that will eventually support the interior walls. At least on the inside the potential customers still have a chance to individualize their houses, that otherwise look exactly the same, like peas in a pod.