Exploring Options for Urban Sustainability in an Era of Scarce Water Resources: A Possible Ban on Lawns
Publication Date
2016
Document Type
Book Chapter
Organizational Units
Sturm College of Law
Keywords
Lawn bans, Sustainability mandates
Abstract
In this chapter, I consider how municipalities can use the law to reduce lawns and the harms they cause. Because lawns are so prevalent and use such a large percentage of potable municipal water, yet offer limited benefits, they are a logical point of attack for future sustainability ordinances. This is not far fetched: a small number of southwestern localities have begun to prohibit or limit new turf installation (Scottsdale; Tucson); others have incentivized the removal of existing lawns (Chandler; Scottsdale); and watering and fertilizer limitations are fairly widespread (Dothan; Garden Grove; Tucson). To date, however, there has been little scholarly discussion of limits on lawns.
Recommended Citation
Sarah B. Schindler, Exploring Options for Urban Sustainability in an Era of Scarce Water Resources: A Possible Ban on Lawns, in How Cities Will Save the World: Urban Innovation in the Face of Population Flows, Climate Change, and Economic Inequality (Raymond H. Brescia and John Travis Marshall eds.) (Farnham: Ashgate, 2016).