7 ms·

Lawns offer a lot in return... unless you just don't like being outside. Since moving to a big city, one of the biggest things I've missed has been a back yard

by xiaoma 10y ago

Lawns offer a lot in return... unless you just don't like being outside. Since moving to a big city, one of the biggest things I've missed has been a back yard to run around in and hang out with my friends. At some point, I might get too old for that, but I suspect I'll enjoy reading outside for decades to come. The reason lawns are disappearing is because people don't like being outdoors as much as they used to. They don't want to play badminton with their friends outside or read on a lawn chair by a tree. They want to stay indoors and play Clash of Clans. After a while anything not covered by a roof and closed in by four walls starts to look like "silliness".

marssaxman 10y ago
I love being outdoors, but a lawn hardly counts. If I want to go outside, I'll go outside - to a park, the arboretum, the beach, up to the mountains, across the mountains to the desert - somewhere interesting. I'll never be wealthy enough to own enough of the outdoors to make it matter. I have a nice back porch with a grill and a picnic table, and there's a deck way out back with a firepit and some benches and some garden beds, but most of the back yard is gravel and I use it as a parking lot. It's really useful, living in a big city, to have a place off the street to store vehicles. I also have a front yard, which is a total waste of space. It looks ugly unless I waste lots of time doing repetitive maintenance work, and nobody ever spends any time there because it's all exposed on a busy street. I'd rather rip it all out and have some kind of native plants jungle, but that takes time and money I haven't been able to spend on it yet. I'd be just as happy if the front yard didn't exist and my house fronted directly on the sidewalk. If I wanted to play badminton or read on a lawn chair I would just go to one of the parks within a few blocks' walk. There's no reason for me to own that land.
- xiaoma 10y ago
  I will say I've probably spent at least a hundred times as much time in back yards as front yards and it is great to live right next to a park (which I've managed to do twice). > "If I wanted to play badminton or read on a lawn chair I would just go to one of the parks within a few blocks' walk." I think maybe this is like the difference between having a computer with internet in your pocket vs having one in your basement (or a few blocks away!). In theory, you can go use it whenever you want. In practice, immediate availability changes habits and ways of life.
  - electricEmu 10y ago
    This absolutely changes habits and the ways of life. When my significant other and I lived in Texas we were 40lbs overweight with a huge lawn that was a PITA to maintain. Now in the city I bike 12-15 miles a day and we use the nearest Park a few blocks off. I'd argue the green space is immediately available and better than a backyard I have to maintain.
- geebee 10y ago
  "I'd rather rip it all out and have some kind of native plants jungle, but that takes time and money I haven't been able to spend on it yet. I'd be just as happy if the front yard didn't exist and my house fronted directly on the sidewalk." I wish you lived in my neighborhood. A lot of people in SF south of 280 or in the outer sunset feel the same way you do about lawns, but they sure don't feel the same way you do about native plants. Instead, they value extra concrete and parking spots. This has been the result: http://sf.streetsblog.org/2013/01/28/cleaning-up-sfs-car-littered-sidewalks-will-take-more-than-parking-tickets/ http://sf.streetsblog.org/2013/01/28/cleaning-up-sfs-car-lit... http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Paved-over-S-F-yards-raise-concerns-4218247.php http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Paved-over-S-F-yards-r... The article says the practice is illegal, but in many neighborhoods in SF, enforcement is largely non-existent. Just to be clear, this isn't purely an aesthetic issue, there are major infrastructure problems here. In particular, paving over with non-permeable surfaces greatly increases the amount of runoff that makes its way into the storm system during heavy rains. San Francisco's system is an antiquated single combined sewage and storm system, which means that if the system is overwhelmed and drains back up.... that ain't just rainwater anymore. http://www.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/news-san-francisco-sewers-floods-el-nino-sfpuc-wastewater-cayuga-mission-district/Content?oid=4160430 http://www.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/news-san-francisco-sewe...
TheCoelacanth 10y ago
> Lawns offer a lot in return... unless you just don't like being outside. Only if you want a private outdoor space. If you don't care about it being private you can just go to a public park instead.

by xiaoma 10y ago

marssaxman 10y ago

I love being outdoors, but a lawn hardly counts. If I want to go outside, I'll go outside - to a park, the arboretum, the beach, up to the mountains, across the mountains to the desert - somewhere interesting. I'll never be wealthy enough to own enough of the outdoors to make it matter. I have a nice back porch with a grill and a picnic table, and there's a deck way out back with a firepit and some benches and some garden beds, but most of the back yard is gravel and I use it as a parking lot. It's really useful, living in a big city, to have a place off the street to store vehicles. I also have a front yard, which is a total waste of space. It looks ugly unless I waste lots of time doing repetitive maintenance work, and nobody ever spends any time there because it's all exposed on a busy street. I'd rather rip it all out and have some kind of native plants jungle, but that takes time and money I haven't been able to spend on it yet. I'd be just as happy if the front yard didn't exist and my house fronted directly on the sidewalk. If I wanted to play badminton or read on a lawn chair I would just go to one of the parks within a few blocks' walk. There's no reason for me to own that land.

xiaoma 10y ago
I will say I've probably spent at least a hundred times as much time in back yards as front yards and it is great to live right next to a park (which I've managed to do twice). > "If I wanted to play badminton or read on a lawn chair I would just go to one of the parks within a few blocks' walk." I think maybe this is like the difference between having a computer with internet in your pocket vs having one in your basement (or a few blocks away!). In theory, you can go use it whenever you want. In practice, immediate availability changes habits and ways of life.
- electricEmu 10y ago
  This absolutely changes habits and the ways of life. When my significant other and I lived in Texas we were 40lbs overweight with a huge lawn that was a PITA to maintain. Now in the city I bike 12-15 miles a day and we use the nearest Park a few blocks off. I'd argue the green space is immediately available and better than a backyard I have to maintain.
geebee 10y ago
"I'd rather rip it all out and have some kind of native plants jungle, but that takes time and money I haven't been able to spend on it yet. I'd be just as happy if the front yard didn't exist and my house fronted directly on the sidewalk." I wish you lived in my neighborhood. A lot of people in SF south of 280 or in the outer sunset feel the same way you do about lawns, but they sure don't feel the same way you do about native plants. Instead, they value extra concrete and parking spots. This has been the result: http://sf.streetsblog.org/2013/01/28/cleaning-up-sfs-car-littered-sidewalks-will-take-more-than-parking-tickets/ http://sf.streetsblog.org/2013/01/28/cleaning-up-sfs-car-lit... http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Paved-over-S-F-yards-raise-concerns-4218247.php http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Paved-over-S-F-yards-r... The article says the practice is illegal, but in many neighborhoods in SF, enforcement is largely non-existent. Just to be clear, this isn't purely an aesthetic issue, there are major infrastructure problems here. In particular, paving over with non-permeable surfaces greatly increases the amount of runoff that makes its way into the storm system during heavy rains. San Francisco's system is an antiquated single combined sewage and storm system, which means that if the system is overwhelmed and drains back up.... that ain't just rainwater anymore. http://www.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/news-san-francisco-sewers-floods-el-nino-sfpuc-wastewater-cayuga-mission-district/Content?oid=4160430 http://www.sfweekly.com/sanfrancisco/news-san-francisco-sewe...

TheCoelacanth 10y ago

> Lawns offer a lot in return... unless you just don't like being outside. Only if you want a private outdoor space. If you don't care about it being private you can just go to a public park instead.