American status symbol under threat: Lawn ban in Las Vegas

Because of years of drought, the state of Nevada in the southwest of the USA had a last year Pass law banning “unnecessary” lawns. Las Vegas is particularly affected, where every self-respecting homeowner crowns their home with a green lawn. But a lawn in such a hot area needs daily sprinkling, and water is scarce. The Colorado River and Lake Mead, which supplies Las Vegas with water, are drying up. With the law now being enforced more widely, homeowners are being asked to replace their lawns with plants that are adapted to the surrounding Mojave Desert and require little water.

American lawns are the size of Texas

“Functional” lawns such as sports fields or cemeteries are excluded. Residents have been given a deadline of 2027, but special police officers are already patrolling to look out for residents blowing up their lawns and issuing a warning. Neighbors are also increasingly denouncing each other, the hashtag exists on Twitter #droughtshamewho pillories the drought sinners.

That’s unpleasant, but also understandable when you consider that a lawn in that area needs 750 liters of water per day, a large part of which does not go into the ground water or the sewage system, but evaporates. Replacing all lawns with drought-resistant, drip-irrigated plants could cut water use by 70 percent. The savings are even greater when using artificial turf, which is quite popular in Las Vegas.

The representative of a company that specializes in the conversion of green spaces in Las Vegas testifies to the “New York Times”that many people react very emotionally to the loss of their lawn. That’s not surprising. In the USA, the lawn has an important meaning for self-image and has a high emotional impact. This is already evident from the statistics.

Lawns cover an area of ​​163,000 square kilometers in the United States. That’s about the size of the state of Texas. It’s the most cultivated plant, and one that’s not even used for nutrition, just… for well-being? The aesthetics? The representation?

The lawn as an extension of the body

What is certain is that the lawn embodies a piece of nature in the city, but a highly domesticated nature. Herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers are all part of it, and it’s not for nothing that dog owners and parents of small children often see signs warning them that the grass is treated and poisonous. The ideal height is 1.5 inches, so they say in the US, which corresponds to 3.81 centimeters. It is also important that the edges are neatly trimmed.

There are owners who mow their lawns more often than they shave, and indeed sometimes the lawn appears like an extension of the body. A neglected lawn makes a bad impression, as does an unkempt beard, overgrown hair, or dirty pants.

However, most Americans are more conformist when it comes to speeding than when it comes to clothing, which tends to be looser than in Europe. Some homeowners’ associations have specific rules on how often the lawn must be mowed and maintained, similar to the rules in a Swiss allotment garden. Fines can even be imposed for violations.

In conversations with neighbors, the lawn is an obvious topic, and it is not uncommon to hear comments like “this one needs to be blown up again” or “it looks like a jungle here” (with a neighbor who maintains a poor meadow instead of a lawn – a rare curiosity). The type of grass is also standardized: “Kentucky Bluegrass” is mostly sown, and it is advantageous to stick to this convention. Occasionally, attention is drawn to crab grass in the lawn, which is considered a weed.

The lawn as a business card

A lawn has a lot to do with the American dream of owning a home, and accordingly it is mainly found in small and suburban towns. The lawn in front of the house is your business card, so to speak, and if the lawn next door becomes overgrown, that reflects badly on you too – or, if the overgrownness is rampant, could even cause the value of the property to fall. The lawn faces the street, i.e. intended for the public, and is not used. In contrast, the backyard is private. Here it is less important what the lawn looks like – it is a kind of commodity where the children run around, play badminton, have a barbecue, eat and drink beer – which would be frowned upon on the street side.

The combination of “lawn” and “ownership” has the advantage for tenants that they do not have to worry about the green spaces. That’s up to the owner, who comes by regularly to water and mow or hires someone to do it – which further increases his status.

The status symbol loses its shine

The meaning of the American turf is only historical understandable. It is an example of a commodity that has trickled down socially over time. One of the first known lawns was the “Tapis vert” in Versailles in the 17th century. George Washington (1732–1799) planted a lawn on his Mount Vernon estate and made it a symbol of success that other upper-class people also considered desirable.

Only after the civil war (1861-1865) did lawns become affordable for the middle class. Finally, after the Second World War, workers also had the opportunity to obtain a home loan. With a well-groomed lawn in front of the house – one of the most important status symbols along with the car – they imitated the middle class, just as the upper class had imitated it.

But today, at a time when naturalness, diversity and individualism are celebrated, the lawn is increasingly seen as sterile – as antiquated and artificial as backcombed hairstyles fixed with hairspray. Such an extreme monoculture is also questionable from an ecological point of view; It offers little habitat for insects. And climate change, drought and water shortages could soon bring it into disrepute – like the swimming pool.