Long held as a symbol of middle-class success and the American Dream, homogenous, monocultural lawns are quickly falling out of favor as people opt for more ecologically friendly gardens that conserve water and increase biodiversity.

Writing in the Washington Post, Dan Zak examines the American obsession with lawns and the growing anti-lawn movement gaining steam in an era of extreme water shortages.
American suburbia has long been defined by “Lawns: emerald green — no, alien green — and kept that way by maniacal vigilance and an elaborate system of pipes and potions, organic and otherwise, in defiance of ecology.” Zak positions awns as a container for our national anxieties, writing: “We’ve been sweeping our anxieties under these green comfort blankets for quite some time.”
In the early and middle parts of the twentieth century, “Lawns were a sign of taste, calm, power, privilege, order, discipline, especially in the aftermath of World War II.” More recently, that trend has reversed, as lawns “began to signal waste, disregard, disharmony, homogeneity, gentrification, zombie Boomerism.” While ornamental lawn grass is still the biggest crop in America, using 9 billion gallons of water a day, attitudes are shifting. “California’s main water utility is paying customers between $2 and $5 for each square foot of living turf that they remove. Last year Nevada outlawed certain types of lawn; rather, the state legislature prohibited the use of water from the dribbling Colorado River to feed certain types of “nonfunctional turf,” which in southern Nevada slurps up to 12 billion gallons of water every year (more than 10 percent of the state’s usage of the river).”
As landscaper Dave Marciniak points out, “Turf serves a purpose, he wrote. It’s soft and durable for recreation. It provides visual relief for the eye, and contrast for landscaping.” But other materials and plants can serve the same purpose, and more lawn devotees are realizing the potential of xeriscaping and other eco-friendly ways to replace lawns with sustainable, locally appropriate landscaping.
FULL STORY: There’s a water crisis. Why do we still have lawns?

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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
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