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To me it's where there's little variation on the styles of homes, lots of cul-de-sacs, and very few mature trees. Generally it's a town that grew fast, and the homes were slapped together cheaply and quickly. The center of town is usually a mall or a "lifestyle center" instead of a real downtown. Granted, even older towns can have cookie-cutter elements (like row houses). I guess what most here consider to be "cookie-cutter" also extends to the mentality of those who live there, which is pretty white, middle class, WASPy.
Here are some examples of what I consider to be cookie-cutter areas:
I think cookie-cutter means that there is little to set it apart from somewhere else. Houses that all look the same, people at mostly the same economic level, the same race, and with mostly shared political views, or in the case of some areas, people all the same age. The local businesses are dominated by national chains. There wouldn't be a strong sense of local identity or sense of place.
I think it's hard for an actual town to be cookie-cutter, as they usually are built over a period of time and have some layers of history (and probably a greater variety of residents as a result). I think the term is more likely to refer to a new suburb or exurb. Some of the cookie cutter nature will probably diminish with time, as eventually there will probably be at least more diversity in at least some ways, and also because even similar houses (such as row houses) will eventually be given more personal touches, trees will come in, and local landmarks will emerge.
It's not all to do with architecture, either, but towns/suburbs/neighborhoods with very strong limits on what you can do or not do to your home's exterior or landscaping (put a gnome statue in your yard, for example, or in some extremes even having curtains that aren't white) certainly invite the cookie-cutter label.
a town that doesn't have anything unique in the looks and culture. The houses all look the same. Its all strip malls and chain restaurants. Nothing to set it apart from anywhere else.
Here we have some neighborhoods like those but most of our houses are unique, and On my street there 2 Mexican families, about 4 of Black Families, and a Spanish family, on my street alone.
People on city-data refer to towns as "cookie cutter".
Everyone has their own opinion for the definition of a "cookie cutter" town.
Give your definition or describe the attributes that make a town "cookie cutter"?
A cookie cutter town is someplace the Pillsbury Dough Boy lived (historical signs say "Poppin' Fresh slept here") and the Keebler Elves commuted to for work.
I live on a street just like this cant wait to escape.
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