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Changing the American lawn: a quest for normalizing lawn weeds
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Ilkow, Daniel. Changing the American lawn: a quest for normalizing lawn weeds. Retrieved from https://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-7fgb-eg82

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TitleChanging the American lawn: a quest for normalizing lawn weeds
NameIlkow, Daniel (author); Lindberg, Arianna (chair); Nelson, Holly G (internal member); Bakshi, Anita (internal member); Hlubik, William T (outside member); Rutgers University; School of Graduate Studies
Date Created2021
Other Date2021-05 (degree)
SubjectLandscape Architecture
Extent1 online resource (viii, 163 pages)
DescriptionThe American lawn is a pertinent component of the natural landscape and plays a significant role in American culture. It is a major ideological component of the “correct” look of the American suburbs. Additionally, this desired aesthetic does not take into account its negative impacts on pollinators and the ecosystem as a whole. The American lawn is heavily controlled and manicured, often involving regimented and aggressive uses of pesticides, fertilizers, and mowing. These diminish the lawn’s ecological functions, as preference is given to maintaining societal norms. Despite these efforts to control, people must continually work to maintain their lawn in a desired condition, as it naturally fights back through innate ecological processes. I argue that it is crucial to loosen the reins on lawn care as well as to alter expectations of what a lawn “should” be in order to design and steward a more sustainable ecosystem for the future.

This thesis examines fostering a more sustainable ecosystem and redefining the lawn in the American social context. The primary question to answer is how can the lawn be more sustainable by incorporating lawn weeds alongside of turf grasses in the American lawn? To answer this question, this paper explores how the lawn became a part of the cultural landscape in America. It then examines existing lawns on a broader scale and strategies for making their different uses more sustainable. The use of the suburban lawn is then addressed and broken down to the ecological level. This is done by addressing how lawn weeds fit into the ecosystem of the lawn. In the context of the New Jersey landscape, using scientific analysis and design strategies, this paper explores the process of diversifying the lawn to see how lawn weeds can function within the lawn and be presented in an aesthetically pleasing fashion.
NoteM.L.A.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
Genretheses, ETD graduate
Persistent URLhttps://doi.org/doi:10.7282/t3-7fgb-eg82
LanguageEnglish
CollectionSchool of Graduate Studies Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.
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