In real life, in my sixty four years, I have found two sorts of neighborhoods in suburbs ... The middle class lives in tract housing, with a modicum of difference between houses, but not much. So to individualize, it's all about landscape. Then there's the upper middle class, free of monotonous tract housing.
I find it amusing that, though I currently have nearly fifty Characters in this game -- and many many more to come -- I am offered about five housing styles. I like to think that they should have representations of homes. Lenny and Carl and maybe even Otto and Barney -- not to even MENTION the Workers we never see or hear of.
I know the characters don't GO home in the game, but it seems skewed to not even have enough housing visible in my Springfield. SF towns I visit sometimes give only a nod to the need for housing. For me, these unseen characters are citizens of Springfield. I like to imagine my SF as a place people live and work. (E.G., I like to imagine the Gilded Truffle has more employees than just the valet.). And given the limitations in variety of house styles, well ... I'm gonna need some landscaping skill here. :)
Rambled again.