  We discuss striped phases as a state of matter intermediate between two
extreme states: a crystalline state and a segregated state. We argue that this
state is very sensitive to weak interactions, compared to those stabilizing a
crystalline state, and to anisotropies. Moreover, under suitable conditions a
2D system in a striped phase decouples into (quasi) 1D chains. These
observations are based on results of our studies of an extension of a
microscopic quantum model of crystallization, proposed originally by Kennedy
and Lieb.
