Uploaded May 2019 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago

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Lawns suck up water, fertilizer, and time. Here's a look at how we got into this mess -- and where we could go from here.

Sources:
The Lawn: A history of an American Obsession, Virginia Scott Jenkins
LIFE magazine, 1969
Milesi, 2005
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16086109
USDA, 2017
quickstats.nass.usda.gov/results/E6C82B55-79FC-36DB-8738-40624C7AF2E6
quickstats.nass.usda.gov/results/53D53D3E-E7CB-369E-B0C3-4BBA2719F54F
U.S. Census Bureau, 2019
fred.stlouisfed.org/series/RHORUSQ156N
Metropolitan Integration Research Center, 1979
https://www4.uwm.edu/eti/Archives/RaciallyRestrictiveCovenants.pdf
CityLab, Martin Prosperity Institute, 2018
citylab.com/equity/2018/05/the-great-housing-reset/559466
Houzz Landscape Trends
greenindustrypros.com/business/article/12320516/summary-of-the-2017-us-houzz-landscaping-trends-study

Extra reading and watching:

Michael Pollan with the case against lawns back in 1989
nytimes.com/1989/05/28/magazine/why-mow-the-case-against-lawns.html

Another book on lawn history
American Green: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn - Ted Steinberg

Scientific American on American lawn love
blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/the-american-obsession-with-lawns

Tips for what to do with your own lawn
tataandhoward.com/2015/06/10-tips-for-a-low-maintenance-eco-friendly-backyard