--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Communities of tract houses, plopped on a…" description: "\"Communities of tract houses, plopped on a grid, represent a way of throwing historical forms around like bouillabaisse.\" — Robert A. M. Stern" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/robert-a-m-stern-49194_community_communities-of-tract-houses-plopped-on-a_2075498.png" --- # Communities of tract houses, plopped on a grid, represent… ![“Communities of tract houses, plopped on a grid, represent a way of throwing historical forms around like bouillabaisse.” quote by Robert A. M. Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/robert-a-m-stern-49194_community_communities-of-tract-houses-plopped-on-a_2075498.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/robert-a-m-stern-49194_community_communities-of-tract-houses-plopped-on-a_2075498.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/robert-a-m-stern-49194_community_communities-of-tract-houses-plopped-on-a_2075498.png) > “Communities of tract houses, plopped on a grid, represent a way of throwing historical forms around like bouillabaisse.” [Robert A. M. Stern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-m-stern/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern tract housing reduces historic architecture to a bland, interchangeable pattern **In simple terms:** Mass housing erases cultural nuance Key Takeaway Advocate for diverse, context‑aware design Themes urban planning architecture cultural heritage Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical design When to use this quote - city zoning - heritage preservation - community design workshops Key Concepts modernism standardization contextualism Questions to Reflect On - What design elements preserve local identity? - How can planners balance efficiency with character? A Different Perspective Uniformity can ignore local needs and histories ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communities Tract](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communities-tract-4027130/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Grids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grids/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/house/) [Houses Plopped](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/houses-plopped-4027128/) [Like Bouillabaisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-bouillabaisse-4027131/) [Plopped Grid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plopped-grid-4027129/) [Throwing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/throwing/) [Tract Houses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tract-houses-610620/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [The California tract houses are like the mundane meeting the mystical. Sometimes if you're driving at twilight, and you see those houses, and they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zal-batmanglij/the-california-tract-houses-are-like-the-mundane-meeting-the-mystical/) [Zal Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zal-batmanglij/) > [There are a lot of questions about whether architecture is art. The people who ask that think pretty tract houses are architecture. 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But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wim-crouwel/the-grid-is-like-the-lines-on-a-football-field-you-can-play-a-great/) [Wim Crouwel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wim-crouwel/) > [I've been a writer and a parent since adolescence, it feels like, and I'm still making both gigs up as I go along. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-winton/i-ve-been-a-writer-and-a-parent-since-adolescence-it-feels-like-and-i/) [Tim Winton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-winton/) > [The government built the grid to favor one industry over others. But I don't hear any conservatives screaming about that. Folks don't understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/the-government-built-the-grid-to-favor-one-industry-over-others-but-i/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [We've always had to worry about the electrical grid and nuclear facilities, and they remain a concern; but cyber-terrorism, you know, which is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-ve-always-had-to-worry-about-the-electrical-grid-and-nuclear/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I live in Mexico in the wintertime, and I live off the grid down there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-ventura/i-live-in-mexico-in-the-wintertime-and-i-live-off-the-grid-down-there/) [Jesse Ventura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-ventura/) ## More by Robert A. M. Stern > [The American dream has always depended on the dialogue between the present and the past. 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