81–90 of 127 posts
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That's not a sufficient reason to have bylaws and HOAs that enforce front lawns. Which is amazingly common.
Have you considered that some people want it that way and choose to live in such a place?
They're coming for lawns now?
> residents of Appleton, Wisconsin [...] convinced their City Council to suspend their weed ordinance for the month of May. This reminds me that there are many municipalities and homeowners' associations that essentially require you to mow your lawn weekly or bi-weekly, lest your grass gets too long and they fine you, because... reasons. It's really gross that we allow people to be such busybodies.
Never really understood why people have lawns in the first place, no-one ever sits on them. Really shocked me when I moved to the US, people value having backyards and just don't spend time there (yeah I'm watching you commenting down on how much you use it and challenge you to actual journal how much time your family spends in there)
Those areas were instrumental in the "American Dream"-style imagery so the rest of the country imitated it, even though it's absolutely insane in some places.
Also the amount yards are used varies greatly by area, and by family size.
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> no-one ever sits on them. Doing stuff on your lawn is only part of its function. Much of the value it provides, arguably most of the value is a combination of: 1. More distance and acoustic isolation from neighbors. A larger property with a house in the middle of it separated from others by space means you hear your neighbors less and they hear you less. It makes your home a little more of a sanctuary. 2. A better…
The trend in Australia at the moment is to build on detached homes on 700 square metres, with just enough lawn to make a small electric lawn mower or gardening service necessary, but none of the benefits. See for example 26 Parkfield Drive, Youngtown Tasmania on your real estate platform of choice (Google search will do) to see what I mean.
> residents of Appleton, Wisconsin [...] convinced their City Council to suspend their weed ordinance for the month of May. This reminds me that there are many municipalities and homeowners' associations that essentially require you to mow your lawn weekly or bi-weekly, lest your grass gets too long and they fine you, because... reasons. It's really gross that we allow people to be such busybodies.
HoA areas are voluntary, you don't have to live in them. I wish we had that kind of thing in New Zealand that I could voluntarily buy into. I don't see anything wrong with having high standards where you live.
> residents of Appleton, Wisconsin [...] convinced their City Council to suspend their weed ordinance for the month of May. This reminds me that there are many municipalities and homeowners' associations that essentially require you to mow your lawn weekly or bi-weekly, lest your grass gets too long and they fine you, because... reasons. It's really gross that we allow people to be such busybodies.
Never really understood why people have lawns in the first place, no-one ever sits on them. Really shocked me when I moved to the US, people value having backyards and just don't spend time there (yeah I'm watching you commenting down on how much you use it and challenge you to actual journal how much time your family spends in there)
Yes, I participate in no mow May. And I know my golf course fairway yard neighbors judge me. Especially with all the dandelions and clover patches I let go un-mowed all year long.
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Never really understood why people have lawns in the first place, no-one ever sits on them. Really shocked me when I moved to the US, people value having backyards and just don't spend time there (yeah I'm watching you commenting down on how much you use it and challenge you to actual journal how much time your family spends in there)
I believe lawns came to the US after WWII with the returning GIs. The idea of lawns began with the French aristocracy a few hundred years ago, pre-industrialized agrarian society. The lawn and heavily manicured garden was a way to show off how rich you were. “Look at me. I’m so rich that not only can I afford to take a portion of my land and not use it to grow a crop or pasture livestock but I can afford to pay peopl…
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The lawns aren’t the reason for the HOAs. The HOAs are intended to try to protect the investment value of the homes by enforcing a level of maintenance in all of the properties. Not saying they are a net good but it doesn’t start with the lawns.
In my experience there are effectively no HOAs that don't legislate lawns (and usually landscaping with them). They may not be the reason, but HOAs are absolutely the cause of outdated, environmentally unsustainable, bullshit lawn requirements.
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As opposed to a lawn made of asphalt?
Trees, shrubs, naturalized landscape, pollinator friendly fescues, etc etc. There are lots of options.
I swear the back yards of suburbs are designed to be flat and open so your neighbors can always snoop on everything from their windows. Panopticon design.
With someone immunocompromised on the property long grass and mosquitos are a problem. We mow heavier around the house because of this, too lazy to do everywhere. Where we haven't been mowing really bad weeds have taken over. We are poisoning our way through them but it takes time. > Lawns cover 40 million acres, or 2%, of land in the US This is because they are amazing. They have a lot of mental health benefits with…