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Many cities in canada and US have laws that force you to cut your lawn. It is pure insanity but America has a weird fixation with lawn. Good article / podcast

Many cities in canada and US have laws that force you to cut your lawn. It is pure insanity but America has a weird fixation with lawn. Good article / podcast on it https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/lawn-order/ https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/lawn-order/

masklinn 5y ago
> It is pure insanity but America has a weird fixation with lawn. It's classism. The entire point of requiring large setbacks with front lawns is to discriminate for homeowners who can afford to maintain a large completely useless surface.
- kache_ 5y ago
  Or maybe, not everything is about power, and nicely tended to lawns look nice enough to the majority of the neighborhood families, such that they want that enforcement
  - sha256sum 5y ago
    Enforcement of private property through majority rule sure sounds like power to me
    - rootusrootus 5y ago
      Sounds like democracy. Neighborhoods with enforcement voted for it. If you've ever lived somewhere with 'that one guy' who completely flouts the norms in all regards, it's easy to see how people decide to enact regulations. I lived in such a place, and the whole neighborhood had to live with his stinky, half-burned shade-tree mechanic operation with junked cars and chemicals everywhere for years before he could be forced out. He didn't even live there, he had a house somewhere else. What finally pushed the city into acting was when we were able to document rats. After serious cleaning (including hauling away truckloads of contaminated dirt) there's a nice little house on the old lot that matches the rest of the neighborhood, and we can forget what a jackass Verl was.
- worik 5y ago
  Perhaps. I cannot argue, I live elsewhere. But I have a lawn that takes me an hour of hard work to mow. It is not visible to the public. I adore it. The dogs adore it. The children are too little to appreciate the effort, but they like it too. There are other reasons to have lawns. Also maintains an area around the house that does not burn
  - notatoad 5y ago
    i don't think anybody is arguing that well-maintained lawns are nice. they're great, but they're undisputably a luxury. the only reason for a law requiring other people to have a manicured lawn is to ensure that a neighbourhood is only populated by the class of people who both value and can afford that luxury.

masklinn 5y ago

> It is pure insanity but America has a weird fixation with lawn. It's classism. The entire point of requiring large setbacks with front lawns is to discriminate for homeowners who can afford to maintain a large completely useless surface.

kache_ 5y ago
Or maybe, not everything is about power, and nicely tended to lawns look nice enough to the majority of the neighborhood families, such that they want that enforcement
- sha256sum 5y ago
  Enforcement of private property through majority rule sure sounds like power to me
  - rootusrootus 5y ago
    Sounds like democracy. Neighborhoods with enforcement voted for it. If you've ever lived somewhere with 'that one guy' who completely flouts the norms in all regards, it's easy to see how people decide to enact regulations. I lived in such a place, and the whole neighborhood had to live with his stinky, half-burned shade-tree mechanic operation with junked cars and chemicals everywhere for years before he could be forced out. He didn't even live there, he had a house somewhere else. What finally pushed the city into acting was when we were able to document rats. After serious cleaning (including hauling away truckloads of contaminated dirt) there's a nice little house on the old lot that matches the rest of the neighborhood, and we can forget what a jackass Verl was.
worik 5y ago
Perhaps. I cannot argue, I live elsewhere. But I have a lawn that takes me an hour of hard work to mow. It is not visible to the public. I adore it. The dogs adore it. The children are too little to appreciate the effort, but they like it too. There are other reasons to have lawns. Also maintains an area around the house that does not burn
- notatoad 5y ago
  i don't think anybody is arguing that well-maintained lawns are nice. they're great, but they're undisputably a luxury. the only reason for a law requiring other people to have a manicured lawn is to ensure that a neighbourhood is only populated by the class of people who both value and can afford that luxury.