low water landscaping Las Vegas

 

Las Vegas
City
Downtown Las Vegas World Market Center The Strat Clark County Government Center Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health Las Vegas Strip in Paradise and Winchester, outside city limits
Flag Seal
Etymology: from Spanish las vegas 'the meadows'
Nicknames:  "Vegas", "Sin City", "City of Lights", "The Gambling Capital of the World",[1] "The Entertainment Capital of the World", "Capital of Second Chances",[2] "The Marriage Capital of the World", "The Silver City", "America's Playground", "Hawaii's Ninth Island"[3][4]
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Las Vegas   Show map of Nevada
Coordinates: 36°10′2″N 115°8′55″W / 36.16722°N 115.14861°W / 36.16722; -115.14861
Country	United States
State	Nevada
County	Clark
Founded	May 15, 1905
Incorporated	March 16, 1911
Government
• Type	Council–manager
• Mayor	Shelley Berkley (D)
• Mayor Pro Tem	Brian Knudsen (D)
• City council	Members Brian Knudsen (D) Victoria Seaman (R) Olivia Diaz (D) Francis Allen-Palenske (R) Cedric Crear (D) Nancy Brune (D)
• City manager	Jorge Cervantes
Area [5]
• City	141.91 sq mi (367.53 km2)
• Land	141.85 sq mi (367.40 km2)
• Water	0.05 sq mi (0.14 km2)
• Urban	540 sq mi (1,400 km2)
• Metro	1,580 sq mi (4,100 km2)
Elevation	2,001 ft (610 m)
Population  (2020)
• City	641,903
• Rank	75th in North America 24th in the United States[6] 1st in Nevada
• Density	4,525.16/sq mi (1,747.17/km2)
• Urban	2,196,623 (US: 21st)
• Urban density	5,046.3/sq mi (1,948.4/km2)
• Metro [7]	2,265,461 (US: 29th)
Demonym	Las Vegan
GDP [8]
• Metro	$160.728 billion (2022)
Time zone	UTC−08:00 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−07:00 (PDT)
ZIP Codes	89044, 89054, 891xx
Area code(s)	702 and 725
FIPS code	32-40000
GNIS feature ID	847388
Website	lasvegasnevada.gov

Las Vegas,^[a] colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-largest in the Southwestern United States. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city had 641,903 residents in 2020,^[9] with a metropolitan population of 2,227,053,^[10] making it the 24th-most populous city in the United States. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city, known primarily for its gambling, shopping, fine dining, entertainment, and nightlife, with most venues centered on downtown Las Vegas and more to the Las Vegas Strip just outside city limits in the unincorporated towns of Paradise and Winchester. The Las Vegas Valley serves as the leading financial, commercial, and cultural center in Nevada.

Las Vegas was settled in 1905 and officially incorporated in 1911.^[11] At the close of the 20th century, it was the most populated North American city founded within that century (a similar distinction was earned by Chicago in the 19th century). Population growth has accelerated since the 1960s and into the 21st century, and between 1990 and 2000 the population increased by 85.2%.

The city bills itself as the Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous for its luxurious and large casino-hotels. With over 40.8 million visitors annually as of 2023,^[12] Las Vegas is one of the most visited cities in the United States, annually ranking as one of the world's most visited tourist destinations.^[13][14] It is the third most popular U.S. destination for business conventions^[15] and a global leader in the hospitality industry.^[16] The city's tolerance for numerous forms of adult entertainment has earned it the nickname "Sin City",^[17] and has made it a popular setting for literature, films, television programs, commercials and music videos.

In 1829, Mexican trader and explorer Antonio Armijo led a group consisting of 60 men and 100 mules along the Old Spanish Trail from modern day New Mexico to California. Along the way, the group stopped in what would become Las Vegas and noted its natural water sources, now referred to as the Las Vegas Springs, which supported extensive vegetation such as grasses and mesquite trees. The springs were a significant natural feature in the valley, with streams that supported a meadow ecosystem. This region served as the winter residence for the Southern Paiute people, who utilized the area's resources before moving to higher elevations during the summer months. The Spanish "las vegas" or "the meadows" (more precisely, lower land near a river) in English, was applied to describe the fertile lowlands near the springs. Over time, the name began to refer to the populated settlement.^[18][19][20]

Nomadic Paleo-Indians traveled to the Las Vegas area 10,000 years ago, leaving behind petroglyphs. Ancient Puebloan and Paiute tribes followed at least 2,000 years ago.^[21]

A young Mexican scout named Rafael Rivera is credited as the first non-Native American to encounter the valley, in 1829.^[22] Trader Antonio Armijo led a 60-man party along the Spanish Trail to Los Angeles, California, in 1829.^[23][24] In 1844, John C. Frémont arrived, and his writings helped lure pioneers to the area. Downtown Las Vegas's Fremont Street is named after him.

Eleven years later, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints chose Las Vegas as the site to build a fort halfway between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, where they would travel to gather supplies. The fort was abandoned several years afterward. The remainder of this Old Mormon Fort can still be seen at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Washington Avenue.

Las Vegas was founded as a city in 1905, when 110 acres (45 ha) of land adjacent to the Union Pacific Railroad tracks were auctioned in what would become the downtown area. In 1911, Las Vegas was incorporated as a city.^[25]

The year 1931 was pivotal for Las Vegas. At that time, Nevada legalized casino gambling^[26] and reduced residency requirements for divorce to six weeks.^[27] This year also witnessed the beginning of construction of the tunnels of nearby Hoover Dam. The influx of construction workers and their families helped Las Vegas avoid economic calamity during the Great Depression. The construction work was completed in 1935.

In late 1941, Las Vegas Army Airfield was established. Renamed Nellis Air Force Base in 1950, it is now home to the United States Air Force Thunderbirds aerobatic team.^[28]

Following World War II, lavishly decorated hotels, gambling casinos, and big-name entertainment became synonymous with Las Vegas.

In 1951, nuclear weapons testing began at the Nevada Test Site, 65 miles (105 km) northwest of Las Vegas. During this time, the city was nicknamed the "Atomic City." Residents and visitors were able to witness the mushroom clouds (and were exposed to the fallout) until 1963 when the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty required that nuclear tests be moved underground.^[29]

In 1955, the Moulin Rouge Hotel opened and became the first racially integrated casino-hotel in Las Vegas.

During the 1960s, corporations and business tycoons such as Howard Hughes were building and buying hotel-casino properties. Gambling was referred to as "gaming," which transitioned it into a legitimate business. Learning from Las Vegas, published during this era, asked architects to take inspiration from the city's highly decorated buildings, helping to start the postmodern architecture movement.

In 1995, the Fremont Street Experience opened in Las Vegas's downtown area. This canopied five-block area features 12.5 million LED lights and 550,000 watts of sound from dusk until midnight during shows held at the top of each hour.

Due to the realization of many revitalization efforts, 2012 was dubbed "The Year of Downtown." Projects worth hundreds of millions of dollars made their debut at this time, including the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, the Discovery Children's Museum, the Mob Museum, the Neon Museum, a new City Hall complex, and renovations for a new Zappos.com corporate headquarters in the old City Hall building.^[30][31]

Las Vegas is the county seat of Clark County, in a basin on the floor of the Mojave Desert,^[32] and is surrounded by mountain ranges. Much of the landscape is rocky and arid, with desert vegetation and wildlife. It can be subjected to torrential flash floods, although much has been done to mitigate the effects of flash floods through improved drainage systems.^[33]

The city's elevation is approximately 2,030 ft (620 m) above sea level, though the surrounding peaks reach elevations of over 10,000 feet (3,000 m) and act as barriers to the strong flow of moisture from the surrounding area. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 135.86 sq mi (351.9 km²), of which 135.81 sq mi (351.7 km²) is land and 0.05 sq mi (0.13 km²) (0.03%) is water.

After Alaska and California, Nevada is the third most seismically active state in the U.S. It has been estimated by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) that over the next 50 years, there is a 10–20% chance of an M6.0 or greater earthquake occurring within 50 km (31 mi) of Las Vegas.^[34]

Within the city are many lawns, trees, and other greenery. Due to water resource issues, there has been a movement to encourage xeriscapes. Another part of conservation efforts is scheduled watering days for residential landscaping. A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant in 2008 funded a program that analyzed and forecast growth and environmental effects through 2019.^[35]

Las Vegas has a subtropical hot desert climate (Köppen climate classification: BWh, Trewartha climate classification BWhk), typical of the Mojave Desert in which it lies. This climate is typified by long, extremely hot summers; warm transitional seasons; and short winters with mild days and cool nights. There is abundant sunshine throughout the year, with an average of 310 sunny days and bright sunshine during 86% of all daylight hours.^[36][37] Rainfall is scarce, with an average of 4.2 in (110 mm) dispersed between roughly 26 total rainy days per year.^[38] Las Vegas is among the sunniest, driest, and least humid locations in North America, with exceptionally low dew points and humidity that sometimes remains below 10%.^[39]

The summer months of June through September are extremely hot, though moderated by the low humidity levels. July is the hottest month, with an average daytime high of 104.5 °F (40.3 °C). On average, 137 days per year reach or exceed 90 °F (32 °C), of which 78 days reach 100 °F (38 °C) and 10 days reach 110 °F (43 °C). During the peak intensity of summer, overnight lows frequently remain above 80 °F (27 °C), and occasionally above 85 °F (29 °C).^[36]

While most summer days are consistently hot, dry, and cloudless, the North American Monsoon sporadically interrupts this pattern and brings more cloud cover, thunderstorms, lightning, increased humidity, and brief spells of heavy rain. Potential monsoons affect Las Vegas between July and August. Summer in Las Vegas is marked by significant diurnal temperature variation. While less extreme than other parts of the state, nighttime lows in Las Vegas are often 30 °F (16.7 °C) or more lower than daytime highs.^[40] The average hottest night of the year is 90 °F (32 °C). The all-time record is at 95 °F (35 °C).^[36]

Las Vegas winters are relatively short, with typically mild daytime temperatures and chilly nights. Sunshine is abundant in all seasons. December is both the year's coolest and cloudiest month, with an average daytime high of 56.9 °F (13.8 °C) and sunshine occurring during 78% of its daylight hours. Winter evenings are defined by clear skies and swift drops in temperature after sunset, with overnight minima averaging around 40 °F (4.4 °C) in December and January. Owing to its elevation that ranges from 2,000 to 3,000 feet (610 to 910 m), Las Vegas experiences markedly cooler winters than other areas of the Mojave Desert and the adjacent Sonoran Desert that are closer to sea level. The city records freezing temperatures an average of 10 nights per winter. It is exceptionally rare for temperatures to reach or fall below 25 °F (−4 °C).^[36]

Most of the annual precipitation falls during the winter. February, the wettest month, averages only four days of measurable rain. The mountains immediately surrounding the Las Vegas Valley accumulate snow every winter, but significant accumulation within the city is rare, although moderate accumulations occur every few years. The most recent accumulations occurred on February 18, 2019, when parts of the city received about 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5.1 cm) of snow^[41] and on February 20 when the city received almost 0.5 inches (1.3 cm).^[42] Other recent significant snow accumulations occurred on December 25, 2015, and December 17, 2008.^[43] Unofficially, Las Vegas's largest snowfall on record was the 12 inches (30 cm) that fell in 1909.^[44] In recent times, ice days have not occurred, although 29 °F (−2 °C) was measured in 1963.^[36] On average the coldest day is 44 °F (7 °C).^[36]

The highest temperature officially observed for Las Vegas is 120 °F (48.9 °C), as measured at Harry Reid International Airport on July 7, 2024.^[36][45] The lowest temperature was 8 °F (−13 °C), recorded on two days: January 25, 1937, and January 13, 1963.^[36] The official record hot daily minimum is 95 °F (35 °C) on July 19, 2005, and July 1, 2013. The official record cold daily maximum is 28 °F (−2 °C) on January 8 and 21, 1937.^[36] July 2024 was the hottest month ever recorded in Las Vegas, with its highest recorded mean daily average temperature over the month of 99.9 °F (38 °C), its highest recorded mean daily maximum temperature of 111.5 °F (44 °C), and its highest recorded mean nightly minimum temperature of 88.3 °F (31 °C).^[46]

Due to concerns about climate change in the wake of a 2002 drought, daily water consumption has been reduced from 314 US gallons (1,190 L) per resident in 2003 to around 205 US gallons (780 L) in 2015.^[47]

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• Boulder City, incorporated
• Enterprise, unincorporated
• Henderson, incorporated
• Lone Mountain, unincorporated
• North Las Vegas, incorporated
• Paradise, unincorporated
• Spring Valley, unincorporated
• Summerlin South, unincorporated
• Sunrise Manor, unincorporated
• Whitney, unincorporated
• Winchester, unincorporated

• Downtown
• The Lakes
• Summerlin
• West Las Vegas

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1900	25		—
1910	800		3,100.0%
1920	2,304		188.0%
1930	5,165		124.2%
1940	8,422		63.1%
1950	24,624		192.4%
1960	64,405		161.6%
1970	125,787		95.3%
1980	164,674		30.9%
1990	258,295		56.9%
2000	478,434		85.2%
2010	583,756		22.0%
2020	641,903		10.0%
2022 (est.)	656,274		2.2%
source:[48][49] 2010–2010[9]

Las Vegas, Nevada – Racial and ethnic composition
Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.

Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2000[50]	Pop 2010[51]	Pop 2020[52]	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	277,704	279,703	259,561	58.04%	47.91%	40.44%
Black or African American alone (NH)	48,380	62,008	79,129	10.11%	10.62%	12.33%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	2,405	2,391	2,291	0.50%	0.41%	0.36%
Asian alone (NH)	22,411	34,606	44,995	4.68%	5.93%	7.01%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	1,935	3,103	4,204	0.40%	0.53%	0.65%
Other race alone (NH)	650	1,101	3,855	0.14%	0.19%	0.60%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	11,987	16,985	34,040	2.51%	2.91%	5.30%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	112,962	183,859	213,828	23.61%	31.50%	33.31%
Total	474,434	583,756	641,903	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

According to the 2020 United States census, the city of Las Vegas had 644,883 people living in 244,429 households. The racial composition of the City of Las Vegas was 49.2% white, 11.9% black, 1.1% American Indian or Alaska Native, 6.9% Asian, Hispanic or Latino residents of any race were 34.1% and 16.2% from two or more races. 40.8% were non-Hispanic white.^[53]

Approximately 5.8% of residents are under the age of five, 22.8% under the age of eighteen and 15.6% over 65 years old. Females are 50.0% of the total population.^[53]

⬤ Black

⬤ Asian

⬤ Hispanic

⬤ Other

From 2019 to 2023, Las Vegas had approximately 244,429 households, with an average of 2.63 persons per household. About 55.7% of housing units were owner-occupied, and the median value of owner-occupied housing was $395,300. Median gross rent during this period was $1,456 per month (in 2023 dollars).^[53]

The median household income in Las Vegas from 2019 to 2023 was $70,723, while the per capita income was $38,421 (in 2023 dollars). Approximately 14.2% of the population lived below the poverty line during the same period.^[53]

Residents over 25 years old with a high school diploma were 85.8% of the population with 27.3% having attained a bachelor's degree or higher.^[53]

About 33.0% of residents aged 5 and older speak a language other than English at home. 20.9% of residents are foreign-born.^[53]

The mean travel time to work for residents aged 16 and older was approximately 25.8 minutes between 2019 and 2023. The vast majority of households in Las Vegas are digitally connected, with 95.6% having a computer and 89.1% subscribing to broadband internet services .

According to demographer William H. Frey using data from the 2010 United States census, Las Vegas has the second-lowest level of black-white segregation of any of the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas after Tucson, Arizona.^[54]

According to the Las Vegas Asian Chamber of Commerce, Filipinos make up the largest ethnic population within Vegas. at 20% of the city's population.^[55] Native Hawaiians are also a major demographic in the city, with some Hawaiians and Las Vegas residents calling the city the "ninth island of Hawaii" due to the major influx of Hawaiians to Vegas.^[56]

According to a 2004 study, Las Vegas has one of the highest divorce rates.^[57][58] The city's high divorce rate is not wholly due to Las Vegans themselves getting divorced. Compared to other states, Nevada's nonrestrictive requirements for divorce result in many couples temporarily moving to Las Vegas in order to get divorced.^[59] Similarly, Nevada marriage requirements are equally lax resulting in one of the highest marriage rates of U.S. cities, with many licenses issued to people from outside the area (see Las Vegas weddings).^[59]

According to the 2010 Census, the city of Las Vegas had a population of 583,756. The city's racial composition had shifted slightly, with 47.91% of the population identifying as White alone (non-Hispanic), 10.63% as Black or African American alone (non-Hispanic), 0.41% as Native American or Alaska Native alone (non-Hispanic), 5.93% as Asian alone (non-Hispanic), 0.53% as Pacific Islander alone (non-Hispanic), 0.19% as Other Race alone (non-Hispanic), and 2.91% as Mixed race or Multiracial (non-Hispanic). Hispanic or Latino individuals of any race represented 31.50% of the population.^[51]

According to the 2000 census, Las Vegas had a population of 474,434 people. The racial makeup of the city was 58.52% White alone (non-Hispanic), 10.19% Black or African American alone (non-Hispanic), 0.51% Native American or Alaska Native alone (non-Hispanic), 4.72% Asian alone (non-Hispanic), 0.41% Pacific Islander alone (non-Hispanic), 0.14% Other Race alone (non-Hispanic), and 2.52% Mixed race or Multiracial (non-Hispanic). Hispanic or Latino individuals of any race made up 23.81% of the population.^[50]

Historical racial profile	2020[60]	2010[61]	2000[62]	1990[63]	1970[63]
White	46.0%	62.1%	69.9%	78.4%	87.6%
—Non-Hispanic Whites	40.4%	47.9%	58.0%	72.1%	83.1%[c]
Black or African American	12.9%	11.1%	10.4%	11.4%	11.2%
Hispanic or Latino (of any race)	33.3%	31.5%	23.6%	12.5%	4.6%[c]
Asian	7.2%	6.1%	4.8%	3.6%	0.7%

The primary drivers of the Las Vegas economy are tourism, gaming, and conventions, which in turn feed the retail and restaurant industries.

The major attractions in Las Vegas are the casinos and the hotels, although in recent years other new attractions have begun to emerge.

Most casinos in the downtown area are on Fremont Street, with The STRAT Hotel, Casino & Skypod as one of the few exceptions. Fremont East, adjacent to the Fremont Street Experience, was granted variances to allow bars to be closer together, similar to the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego, the goal being to attract a different demographic than the Strip attracts.

The Golden Gate Hotel and Casino, downtown along the Fremont Street Experience, is the oldest continuously operating hotel and casino in Las Vegas; it opened in 1906 as the Hotel Nevada.

In 1931, the Northern Club (now the La Bayou) opened.^[64][65] The most notable of the early casinos may have been Binion's Horseshoe (now Binion's Gambling Hall and Hotel) while it was run by Benny Binion.

Boyd Gaming has a major presence downtown operating the California Hotel & Casino, the Fremont Hotel & Casino, and the Main Street Casino. The Four Queens also operates downtown along the Fremont Street Experience.

Downtown casinos that have undergone major renovations and revitalization in recent years include the Golden Nugget Las Vegas, The D Las Vegas (formerly Fitzgerald's), the Downtown Grand Las Vegas (formerly Lady Luck), the El Cortez Hotel & Casino, and the Plaza Hotel & Casino.^[66]

In 2020, Circa Resort & Casino opened, becoming the first all-new hotel-casino to be built on Fremont Street since 1980.^[67]

The center of the gambling and entertainment industry is the Las Vegas Strip, outside the city limits in the surrounding unincorporated communities of Paradise and Winchester in Clark County. Some of the largest casinos and buildings are there.^[68]

In 1929, the city installed a welcome arch over Fremont Street, at the corner of Main Street.^[69][70][71] It remained in place until 1931.^[72][73]

In 1959, the 25-foot-tall (7.6 m) Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign was installed at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip. A replica welcome sign, standing nearly 16 feet (4.9 m) tall, was installed within city limits in 2002, at Las Vegas Boulevard and Fourth Street.^[74][75][76] The replica was destroyed in 2016, when a pickup truck crashed into it.^[77]

In 2018, the city approved plans for a new gateway landmark in the form of neon arches. It was built within city limits, in front of the Strat resort and north of Sahara Avenue.^[78] The project, built by YESCO, cost $6.5 million and stands 80 feet (24 m) high.^[79] Officially known as the Gateway Arches, the project was completed in 2020. The steel arches are blue during the day, and light up in a variety of colors at night.^[80]

Also located just north of the Strat are a pair of giant neon showgirls, initially added in 2018 as part of a $400,000 welcome display. The original showgirls were 25 feet (7.6 m) tall, but were replaced by new ones in 2022, rising 50 feet (15 m).^[81][82] The originals were refurbished following weather damage and installed at the Las Vegas Arts District.^[82][83]

When The Mirage opened in 1989, it started a trend of major resort development on the Las Vegas Strip outside of the city. This resulted in a drop in tourism in the downtown area, but many recent projects have increased the number of visitors to downtown.

An effort has been made by city officials to diversify the economy by attracting health-related, high-tech and other commercial interests. No state tax for individuals or corporations, as well as a lack of other forms of business-related taxes, have aided the success of these efforts.^[84]

The Fremont Street Experience was built in an effort to draw tourists back to the area and has been popular since its startup in 1995.

The city conducted a land-swap deal in 2000 with Lehman Brothers, acquiring 61 acres (25 ha) of property near downtown Las Vegas in exchange for 91 acres (37 ha) of the Las Vegas Technology Center.^[85] In 2004, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman announced that the area would become home to Symphony Park (originally called "Union Park"^[86]), a mixed-use development. The development is home to the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, the Discovery Children's Museum, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, and four residential projects totaling 600 residential units as of 2024.^[87]

In 2005, the World Market Center opened, consisting of three large buildings taking up 5,400,000 square feet (500,000 m²). Trade shows for the furniture and furnishing industries are held there semiannually.^[88]

Also nearby is the Las Vegas North Premium Outlets. With a second expansion, completed in May 2015, the mall currently offers 175 stores.^[89]

City offices moved to a new Las Vegas City Hall in February 2013 on downtown's Main Street. The former city hall building is now occupied by the corporate headquarters for the online retailer Zappos.com, which opened downtown in 2013. Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh took an interest in the urban area and contributed $350 million toward a revitalization effort called the Downtown Project.^[90][91] Projects funded include Las Vegas's first independent bookstore, The Writer's Block.^[92]

A number of new industries have moved to Las Vegas in recent decades. Zappos.com (now an Amazon subsidiary) was founded in San Francisco but by 2013 had moved its headquarters to downtown Las Vegas. Allegiant Air, a low-cost air carrier, launched in 1997 with its first hub at Harry Reid International Airport and headquarters in nearby Summerlin.

Planet 13 Holdings, a cannabis company, opened the world's largest cannabis dispensary in Las Vegas at 112,000 sq ft (10,400 m²).^[93][94]

A growing population means the Las Vegas Valley used 1.2 billion US gal (4.5 billion L) more water in 2014 than in 2011. Although water conservation efforts implemented in the wake of a 2002 drought have had some success, local water consumption remains 30 percent greater than in Los Angeles, and over three times that of San Francisco metropolitan area residents. The Southern Nevada Water Authority is building a $1.4 billion tunnel and pumping station to bring water from Lake Mead, has purchased water rights throughout Nevada, and has planned a controversial $3.2 billion pipeline across half the state. By law, the Las Vegas Water Service District "may deny any request for a water commitment or request for a water connection if the District has an inadequate supply of water." But limiting growth on the basis of an inadequate water supply has been unpopular with the casino and building industries.^[47]

The city is home to several museums, including the Neon Museum (the location for many of the historical signs from Las Vegas's mid-20th century heyday), The Mob Museum, the Las Vegas Natural History Museum, the Discovery Children's Museum, the Nevada State Museum and the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park.

The city is home to an extensive Downtown Arts District, which hosts numerous galleries and events including the annual Las Vegas Film Festival. "First Friday" is a monthly celebration that includes arts, music, special presentations and food in a section of the city's downtown region called 18b, The Las Vegas Arts District.^[95] The festival extends into the Fremont East Entertainment District.^[96] The Thursday evening before First Friday is known in the arts district as "Preview Thursday," which highlights new gallery exhibitions throughout the district.^[97]

The Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts is a Grammy award-winning magnet school located in downtown Las Vegas. The Smith Center for the Performing Arts is downtown in Symphony Park and hosts various Broadway shows and other artistic performances.

Las Vegas has earned the moniker "Gambling Capital of the World," as it has the world's most land-based casinos.^[98] The city is also host to more AAA Five Diamond hotels than any other city in the world.^[99]

The Las Vegas Valley is the home of three major professional teams: the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Vegas Golden Knights, an expansion team that began play in the 2017–18 NHL season at T-Mobile Arena in nearby Paradise,^[100] the National Football League (NFL)'s Las Vegas Raiders, who relocated from Oakland, California, in 2020 and play at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise,^[101] and the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)'s Las Vegas Aces, who play at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. The Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB) will move to Las Vegas by 2028.^[102][103]

Two minor league sports teams play in the Las Vegas area. The Las Vegas Aviators of the Pacific Coast League, the Triple-A farm club of the Athletics, play at Las Vegas Ballpark in nearby Summerlin.^[104] The Las Vegas Lights FC of the United Soccer League play in Cashman Field in Downtown Las Vegas.^[105][106]

The mixed martial arts promotion, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), is headquartered in Las Vegas and also frequently holds fights in the city at T-Mobile Arena and at the UFC Apex training facility near the headquarters.^[107]

Team	Sport	League	Venue (capacity)	Established	Titles
Las Vegas Raiders	Football	NFL	Allegiant Stadium (65,000)	2020	3[d]
Vegas Golden Knights	Ice hockey	NHL	T-Mobile Arena (17,500)	2017	1
Las Vegas Aces	Women's basketball	WNBA	Michelob Ultra Arena (12,000)	2018	2

Team	Sport	League	Venue (capacity)	Established	Titles
Las Vegas Aviators	Baseball	MiLB (AAA-PCL)	Las Vegas Ballpark (10,000)	1983	2
Henderson Silver Knights	Ice hockey	AHL	Lee's Family Forum (5,567)	2020	0
Las Vegas Lights FC	Soccer	USLC	Cashman Field (9,334)	2018	0
Vegas Knight Hawks	Indoor football	IFL	Lee's Family Forum (6,019)	2021	0
Las Vegas Desert Dogs	Box lacrosse	NLL	Lee's Family Forum (5,567)		0

Team	Sport	League	Venue (capacity)	Established	Titles
Las Vegas Dream	Basketball	ABA		2023
Las Vegas Royals				2020
Vegas Jesters	Ice hockey	MWHL	City National Arena (600)	2012	0
Las Vegas Thunderbirds		USPHL		2019	0
Las Vegas Legends	Soccer	NPSL	Peter Johann Memorial Field (2,500)	2021	0
Vegas NVaders	Women's football	WFA - D2	Desert Pines High School (N/A)	2023	0

School	Team	League	Division	Primary Conference
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV)	UNLV Rebels	NCAA	NCAA Division I	Mountain West
College of Southern Nevada (CSN)	CSN Coyotes	NJCAA	NJCAA Division I	Scenic West

The city's parks and recreation department operates 78 regional, community, neighborhood, and pocket parks; four municipal swimming poools, 11 recreational centers, four active adult centers, eight cultural centers, six galleries, eleven dog parks, and four golf courses: Angel Park Golf Club, Desert Pines Golf Club, Durango Hills Golf Club, and the Las Vegas Municipal Golf Course.^[108]

It is also responsible for 123 playgrounds, 23 softball fields, 10 football fields, 44 soccer fields, 10 dog parks, six community centers, four senior centers, 109 skate parks, and six swimming pools.^[109]

The city of Las Vegas has a council–manager government.^[110] The mayor sits as a council member-at-large and presides over all city council meetings.^[110] If the mayor cannot preside over a city council meeting, then the Mayor pro tempore is the presiding officer of the meeting until the Mayor returns to his/her seat.^[111] The city manager is responsible for the administration and the day-to-day operations of all municipal services and city departments.^[112] The city manager maintains intergovernmental relationships with federal, state, county and other local governments.^[112]

Out of the 2,265,461 people in Clark County as of the 2020 Census, approximately 1,030,000 people live in unincorporated Clark County, and around 650,000 live in incorporated cities such as North Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City.^[113] Las Vegas and Clark County share a police department, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, which was formed after a 1973 merger of the Las Vegas Police Department and the Clark County Sheriff's Department.^[114] North Las Vegas, Henderson, Boulder City, Mesquite, UNLV and CCSD have their own police departments.^[115]

The federally-recognized Las Vegas Tribe of Paiute Indians (Southern Paiute: Nuvagantucimi) occupies a 31-acre (130,000 m²) reservation just north downtown between Interstate-15 and Main Street.^{[116][117][118]}

Downtown is the location of Lloyd D. George Federal District Courthouse^[119] and the Regional Justice Center,^[120] draws numerous companies providing bail, marriage, divorce, tax, incorporation and other legal services.

Name	Position	Party	References	Notes
Shelley Berkley	Mayor	Democratic	[121]
Brian Knudsen	1st Ward Council member	Democratic	[122][123]	Mayor Pro Tem
Victoria Seaman	2nd Ward Council member	Republican	[124][123]
Olivia Diaz	3rd Ward Council member	Democratic	[125][123]
Francis Allen-Palenske	4th Ward Council member	Republican
Shondra Summers-Armstrong	5th Ward Council member	Democratic	[126]
Nancy Brune	6th Ward Council member	Democratic

Primary and secondary public education is provided by the Clark County School District.^[127]

Public higher education is provided by the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE). Public institutions serving Las Vegas include the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), the College of Southern Nevada (CSN), Nevada State University (NSU), and the Desert Research Institute (DRI).^[128]

UNLV is a public, land-grant, R1 research university and is home to the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine^[129] and the William S. Boyd School of Law, the only law school in Nevada.^[130] The university's campus is urban and located about two miles east of the Las Vegas strip. The Desert Research Institute's southern campus sits next to UNLV, while its northern campus is in Reno.^[131]

CSN, with campuses throughout Clark County,^[132] is a community college with one of the largest enrollments in the United States.^[133] In unincorporated Clark County, CSN's Charleston campus is home to the headquarters of Nevada Public Radio (KNPR), an NPR member station.^[134][135]

Touro University Nevada located in Henderson is a non-profit, private institution primarily focusing on medical education.^[136] Other institutions include a number of for-profit private schools (e.g., Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts, DeVry University, among others).^[137]

• Las Vegas Review-Journal, the area's largest daily newspaper, is published every morning. It was formed in 1909 but has roots back to 1905. It is the largest newspaper in Nevada and is ranked as one of the top 25 newspapers in the United States by circulation. In 2000, the Review-Journal installed the largest newspaper printing press in the world. It cost $40 million, weighs 910 tons and consists of 16 towers.^[138] Until his death in January 2021, the newspaper was owned by casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who purchased it for $140 million in December 2015. In 2018, the Review-Journal received the Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for reporting the Oct 1 mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip. In 2018 and 2022, Editor and Publisher magazine named the Review-Journal as one of 10 newspapers in the United States "doing it right."^[139][140]
• Las Vegas Sun, based in neighboring Henderson, is a daily newspaper. Although independently published, the print edition is distributed as a section inside the Review-Journal. The Sun is owned by the Greenspun family and is part of the Greenspun Media Group. It was founded independently in 1950 and in 1989 entered into a Joint Operating Agreement with the Review-Journal, which runs through 2040. The Sun has been described as "politically liberal."^[141] In 2009, the Sun was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for coverage of the high death rate of construction workers on the Las Vegas Strip amid lax enforcement of regulations.^[142][143]
• Las Vegas Weekly, based in neighboring Henderson, is a free alternative weekly newspaper. It covers Las Vegas arts, entertainment, culture and news. Las Vegas Weekly was founded in 1992 and is published by the Greenspun Media Group.

Las Vegas is served by 10 full power television stations and 46 radio stations. The area is also served by two NOAA Weather Radio transmitters (162.55 MHz located in Boulder City and 162.40 MHz located on Potosi Mountain).

• Radio stations in Las Vegas
• Television stations in Las Vegas

• Desert Companion
• Las Vegas Weekly
• Luxury Las Vegas

RTC Transit is a public transportation system providing bus service throughout Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas and other areas of the valley. Inter-city bus service to and from Las Vegas is provided by Greyhound, BoltBus, Orange Belt Stages, Tufesa, and several smaller carriers.^[144]

Amtrak trains have not served Las Vegas since the service via the Desert Wind at Las Vegas station ceased in 1997, but Amtrak California operates Amtrak Thruway dedicated service between the city and its passenger rail stations in Bakersfield, California, as well as Los Angeles Union Station via Barstow.^[145]

High-speed rail project Brightline West began construction in 2024 to connect Brightline's Las Vegas station and the Rancho Cucamonga station in Greater Los Angeles.^[146]

The Las Vegas Monorail on the Strip was privately built, and upon bankruptcy taken over by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.^[147]

Silver Rider Transit operates three routes within Las Vegas, offering connections to Laughlin,^[148] Mesquite,^[149] and Sandy Valley.^[150]

The Union Pacific Railroad is the only Class I railroad providing rail freight service to the city. Until 1997, the Amtrak Desert Wind train service ran through Las Vegas using the Union Pacific Railroad tracks.

In March 2010, the RTC launched bus rapid transit link in Las Vegas called the Strip & Downtown Express with limited stops and frequent service that connects downtown Las Vegas, the Strip and the Las Vegas Convention Center. Shortly after the launch, the RTC dropped the ACE name.^[151]

In 2016, 77.1 percent of working Las Vegas residents (those living in the city, but not necessarily working in the city) commuted by driving alone. About 11 percent commuted via carpool, 3.9 percent used public transportation, and 1.4 percent walked. About 2.3 percent of Las Vegas commuters used all other forms of transportation, including taxi, bicycle, and motorcycle. About 4.3% of working Las Vegas residents worked at home.^[152] In 2015, 10.2 percent of city of Las Vegas households were without a car, which increased slightly to 10.5 percent in 2016. The national average was 8.7 percent in 2016. Las Vegas averaged 1.63 cars per household in 2016, compared to a national average of 1.8 per household.

With some exceptions, including Las Vegas Boulevard, Boulder Highway (SR 582) and Rancho Drive (SR 599), the majority of surface streets in Las Vegas are laid out in a grid along Public Land Survey System section lines. Many are maintained by the Nevada Department of Transportation as state highways. The street numbering system is divided by the following streets:

• Westcliff Drive, US 95 Expressway, Fremont Street and Charleston Boulevard divide the north–south block numbers from west to east.
• Las Vegas Boulevard divides the east–west streets from the Las Vegas Strip to near the Stratosphere, then Main Street becomes the dividing line from the Stratosphere to the North Las Vegas border, after which the Goldfield Street alignment divides east and west.
• On the east side of Las Vegas, block numbers between Charleston Boulevard and Washington Avenue are different along Nellis Boulevard, which is the eastern border of the city limits.

Interstates 15, 11, and US 95 lead out of the city in four directions. Two major freeways – Interstate 15 and Interstate 11/U.S. Route 95 – cross in downtown Las Vegas. I-15 connects Las Vegas to Los Angeles, and heads northeast to and beyond Salt Lake City. I-11 goes northwest to the Las Vegas Paiute Indian Reservation and southeast to Henderson and to the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, where from this point I-11 will eventually continue along US 93 towards Phoenix, Arizona. US 95 (and eventually I-11) connects the city to northwestern Nevada, including Carson City and Reno. US 93 splits from I-15 northeast of Las Vegas and goes north through the eastern part of the state, serving Ely and Wells. US 95 heads south from US 93 near Henderson through far eastern California. A partial beltway has been built, consisting of Interstate 215 on the south and Clark County 215 on the west and north. Other radial routes include Blue Diamond Road (SR 160) to Pahrump and Lake Mead Boulevard (SR 147) to Lake Mead.

East–west roads, north to south^[153]

North–south roads, west to east

Harry Reid International Airport handles international and domestic flights into the Las Vegas Valley. The airport also serves private aircraft and freight/cargo flights. Most general aviation traffic uses the smaller North Las Vegas Airport and Henderson Executive Airport.

• 2017 Las Vegas shooting
• List of films set in Las Vegas
• List of films shot in Las Vegas
• List of Las Vegas casinos that never opened
• List of mayors of Las Vegas
• List of television shows set in Las Vegas
• Radio stations in Las Vegas
• Television stations in Las Vegas

• Brigham, Jay. "Review: 'Reno, Las Vegas, and the Strip: A Tale of Three Cities'." Western Historical Quarterly 46.4 (2015): 529–530. JSTOR westhistquar.46.4.0529.
• Chung, Su Kim (2012). Las Vegas Then and Now, Holt: Thunder Bay Press, ISBN 978-1-60710-582-4
• Moehring, Eugene P. Resort City in the Sunbelt: Las Vegas, 1930–2000 (2000).
• Moehring, Eugene, "The Urban Impact: Towns and Cities in Nevada's History," Nevada Historical Society Quarterly 57 (Fall/Winter 2014): 177–200.
• Rowley, Rex J. Everyday Las Vegas: Local Life in a Tourist Town (2013)
• Stierli, Martino (2013). Las Vegas in the Rearview Mirror: The City in Theory, Photography, and Film, Los Angeles: Getty Publications, ISBN 978-1-60606-137-4
• Venturi, Robert (1972). Learning from Las Vegas: The Forgotten Symbolism of Architectural Form, Cambridge: MIT Press, ISBN 978-0-26272-006-9

• Official website
• "The Making of Las Vegas"^{[dead link‍]} (historical timeline)
• Geologic tour guide of the Las Vegas area from American Geological Institute
• National Weather Service Forecast – Las Vegas, NV

 

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A lawn (/lɔːn/) is an area of soil-covered land planted with grasses and other durable plants such as clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawn mower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic and recreational purposes—it is also commonly referred to as part of a garden. Lawns are usually composed only of grass species, subject to weed and pest control, maintained in a green color (e.g., by watering), and are regularly mowed to ensure an acceptable length.^[1] Lawns are used around houses, apartments, commercial buildings and offices. Many city parks also have large lawn areas. In recreational contexts, the specialised names turf, parade, pitch, field or green may be used, depending on the sport and the continent.

The term "lawn", referring to a managed grass space, dates to at least the 16th century. With suburban expansion, the lawn has become culturally ingrained in some areas of the world as part of the desired household aesthetic.^[2] However, awareness of the negative environmental impact of this ideal is growing.^[3] In some jurisdictions where there are water shortages, local government authorities are encouraging alternatives to lawns to reduce water use. Researchers in the United States have noted that suburban lawns are "biological deserts" that are contributing to a "continental-scale ecological homogenization."^[4] Lawn maintenance practices also cause biodiversity loss in surrounding areas.^[5][6] Some forms of lawn, such as tapestry lawns, are designed partly for biodiversity and pollinator support.

Lawn is a cognate of Welsh llan ( Cornish and Breton *lann* which is derived from the Common Brittonic word landa (Old French: lande) that originally meant heath, barren land, or clearing.^[7][8]

Areas of grass grazed regularly by rabbits, horses or sheep over a long period often form a very low, tight sward similar to a modern lawn. This was the original meaning of the word "lawn", and the term can still be found in place names. Some forest areas where extensive grazing is practiced still have these seminatural lawns. For example, in the New Forest, England, such grazed areas are common, and are known as lawns, for example Balmer Lawn.^{[citation needed]}

Lawns may have originated as grassed enclosures within early medieval settlements used for communal grazing of livestock, as distinct from fields reserved for agriculture.^{[citation needed]} Low, mown-meadow areas may also have been valued because they allowed those inside an enclosed fence or castle to view those approaching. The early lawns were not always distinguishable from pasture fields. The damp climate of maritime Western Europe in the north made lawns possible to grow and manage. They were not a part of gardens in most other regions and cultures of the world until contemporary influence.^[9]

In 1100s Britain, low-growing area of grasses and meadow flowers were grazed or scythed to keep them short, and used for sport.^[10] Lawn bowling, which began in the 12th or 13th century, required short turf.^[10]

Establishing grass using sod instead of seed was first documented in a Japanese text of 1159.^[10]

Lawns became popular with the aristocracy in northern Europe from the Middle Ages onward. In the fourteen hundreds, open expanses of low grasses appear in paintings of public and private areas; by the fifteen hundreds, such areas were found in the gardens of the wealthy across northern and central Europe. Public meadow areas, kept short by sheep, were used for new sports such as cricket, soccer, and golf.^[10] The word "laune" is first attested in 1540 from the Old French lande "heath, moor, barren land; clearing".^[11] It initially described a natural opening in a woodland.^[10] In the sixteen hundreds, "lawn" came to mean a grassy stretch of untilled land, and by mid-century, there were publications on seeding and transplanting sod. In the seventeen hundreds, "lawn" came to mean specifically a mown stretch of meadow.^[10]

Lawns similar to those of today first appeared in France and England in the 1700s when André Le Nôtre designed the gardens of the Palace of Versailles that included a small area of grass called the tapis vert, or "green carpet", which became a common feature of French gardens. Large, mown open spaces became popular in Europe and North America.^[10] The lawn was influenced by later seventeen-hundreds trends replicating the romantic aestheticism of grassy pastoralism from Italian landscape paintings.^[12]

Before the invention of mowing machines in 1830, lawns were managed very differently. They were an element of wealthy estates and manor houses, and in some places were maintained by labor-intensive scything and shearing (for hay or silage). They were also pasture land maintained through grazing by sheep or other livestock.^{[citation needed]}

It was not until the 17th and 18th century that the garden and the lawn became a place created first as walkways and social areas. They were made up of meadow plants, such as camomile, a particular favourite (see camomile lawn). In the early 17th century, the Jacobean epoch of gardening began; during this period, the closely cut "English" lawn was born. By the end of this period, the English lawn was a symbol of status of the aristocracy and gentry.^{[citation needed]}

In the early 18th century, landscape gardening for the aristocracy entered a golden age, under the direction of William Kent and Lancelot "Capability" Brown. They refined the English landscape garden style with the design of natural, or "romantic", estate settings for wealthy Englishmen.^[13] Brown, remembered as "England's greatest gardener", designed over 170 parks, many of which still endure. His influence was so great that the contributions to the English garden made by his predecessors Charles Bridgeman and William Kent are often overlooked.^[14]

His work still endures at Croome Court (where he also designed the house), Blenheim Palace, Warwick Castle, Harewood House, Bowood House, Milton Abbey (and nearby Milton Abbas village), in traces at Kew Gardens and many other locations.^[15] His style of smooth undulating lawns which ran seamlessly to the house and meadow, clumps, belts and scattering of trees and his serpentine lakes formed by invisibly damming small rivers, were a new style within the English landscape, a "gardenless" form of landscape gardening, which swept away almost all the remnants of previous formally patterned styles. His landscapes were fundamentally different from what they replaced, the well-known formal gardens of England which were criticised by Alexander Pope and others from the 1710s.^[16]

The open "English style" of parkland first spread across Britain and Ireland, and then across Europe, such as the garden à la française being replaced by the French landscape garden. By this time, the word "lawn" in England had semantically shifted to describe a piece of a garden covered with grass and closely mown.^[17]

Wealthy families in America during the late 18th century also began mimicking English landscaping styles. British settlers in North America imported an affinity for landscapes in the style of the English lawn. However, early in the colonization of the continent, environments with thick, low-growing, grass-dominated vegetation were rare in the eastern part of the continent, enough so that settlers were warned that it would be difficult to find land suitable for grazing cattle.^[18] In 1780, the Shaker community began the first industrial production of high-quality grass seed in North America, and a number of seed companies and nurseries were founded in Philadelphia. The increased availability of these grasses meant they were in plentiful supply for parks and residential areas, not just livestock.^[17]

Thomas Jefferson has long been given credit for being the first person to attempt an English-style lawn at his estate, Monticello, in 1806, but many others had tried to emulate English landscaping before he did. Over time, an increasing number towns in New England began to emphasize grass spaces. Many scholars link this development to the romantic and transcendentalist movements of the 19th century. These green commons were also heavily associated with the success of the Revolutionary War and often became the homes of patriotic war memorials after the Civil War ended in 1865.^[17]

Before the mechanical lawn mower, the upkeep of lawns was possible only for the extremely wealthy estates and manor houses of the aristocracy. Labor-intensive methods of scything and shearing the grass were required to maintain the lawn in its correct state, and most of the land in England was required for more functional, agricultural purposes.^{[citation needed]}

This all changed with the invention of the lawn mower by Edwin Beard Budding in 1830. Budding had the idea for a lawn mower after seeing a machine in a local cloth mill which used a cutting cylinder (or bladed reel) mounted on a bench to trim the irregular nap from the surface of woolen cloth and give a smooth finish.^[19] Budding realised that a similar device could be used to cut grass if the mechanism was mounted in a wheeled frame to make the blades rotate close to the lawn's surface. His mower design was to be used primarily to cut the lawn on sports grounds and extensive gardens, as a superior alternative to the scythe, and he was granted a British patent on 31 August 1830.^[20]

Budding went into partnership with a local engineer, John Ferrabee, who paid the costs of development and acquired rights to manufacture and sell lawn mowers and to license other manufacturers. Together they made mowers in a factory at Thrupp near Stroud.^[21] Among the other companies manufacturing under license the most successful was Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies of Ipswich which began mower production as early as 1832.^[22]

However, his model had two crucial drawbacks. It was immensely heavy (it was made of cast iron) and difficult to manoeuvre in the garden, and did not cut the grass very well. The blade would often spin above the grass uselessly.^[22] It took ten more years and further innovations, including the advent of the Bessemer process for the production of the much lighter alloy steel and advances in motorization such as the drive chain, for the lawn mower to become a practical proposition. Middle-class families across the country, in imitation of aristocratic landscape gardens, began to grow finely trimmed lawns in their back gardens.^{[citation needed]}

In the 1850s, Thomas Green of Leeds introduced a revolutionary mower design called the Silens Messor (meaning silent cutter), which used a chain to transmit power from the rear roller to the cutting cylinder. The machine was much lighter and quieter than the gear driven machines that preceded them, and won first prize at the first lawn mower trial at the London Horticultural Gardens.^[22] Thus began a great expansion in the lawn mower production in the 1860s. James Sumner of Lancashire patented the first steam-powered lawn mower in 1893.^[23] Around 1900, Ransomes' Automaton, available in chain- or gear-driven models, dominated the British market. In 1902, Ransomes produced the first commercially available mower powered by an internal combustion gasoline engine. JP Engineering of Leicester, founded after World War I, invented the first riding mowers.^{[citation needed]}

This went hand-in-hand with a booming consumer market for lawns from the 1860s onward. With the increasing popularity of sports in the mid-Victorian period, the lawn mower was used to craft modern-style sporting ovals, playing fields, pitches and grass courts for the nascent sports of football, lawn bowls, lawn tennis and others.^[24] The rise of Suburbanisation in the interwar period was heavily influenced by the garden city movement of Ebenezer Howard and the creation of the first garden suburbs at the turn of the 20th century.^[25] The garden suburb, developed through the efforts of social reformer Henrietta Barnett and her husband, exemplified the incorporation of the well manicured lawn into suburban life.^[26] Suburbs dramatically increased in size. Harrow Weald went from just 1,500 to over 10,000 while Pinner jumped from 3,00 to over 20,000. During the 1930s, over 4 million new suburban houses were built and the 'suburban revolution' had made England the most heavily suburbanized country in the world by a considerable margin.^[27]

Lawns began to proliferate in America from the 1870s onwards. As more plants were introduced from Europe, lawns became smaller as they were filled with flower beds, perennials, sculptures, and water features.^[28] Eventually the wealthy began to move away from the cities into new suburban communities. In 1856, an architectural book was published to accompany the development of the new suburbia that placed importance on the availability of a grassy space for children to play on and a space to grow fruits and vegetables that further imbued the lawn with cultural importance.^[17] Lawns began making more appearances in development plans, magazine articles, and catalogs.^[29] The lawn became less associated with being a status symbol, instead giving way to a landscape aesthetic. Improvements in the lawn mower and water supply enabled the spread of lawn culture from the Northeast to the South, where the grass grew more poorly.^[17] This in combination with setback rules, which required all homes to have a 30-foot gap between the structure and the sidewalk meant that the lawn had found a specific place in suburbia.^[28] In 1901, the United States Congress allotted $17,000 to the study of the best grasses for lawns, creating the spark for lawn care to become an industry.^[30]

After World War II, a surplus of synthetic nitrogen in the United States led to chemical firms such as DuPont seeking to expand the market for fertilizers.^[31] The suburban lawn offered an opportunity to market fertilizers, previously only used by farmers, to homeowners. In 1955, DuPont released Uramite, a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer specifically marketed for lawns. The trend continued throughout the 1960s, with chemical firms such as DuPont and Monsanto utilizing television advertising and other forms of advertisement to market pesticides, fertilizers, and herbicides.^[32] The environmental impacts of this widespread chemical use were noticed as early as the 1960s, but suburban lawns as a source of pollution were largely ignored.^[33]

Due to the harmful effects of excessive pesticide use, fertilizer use, climate change and pollution, a movement developed in the late 20th century to require organic lawn management. By the first decade of the 21st century, American homeowners were using ten times more pesticides per acre than farmers, poisoning an estimated 60 to 70 million birds yearly.^[34] Lawn mowers are a significant contributor to pollution released into Earth's atmosphere, with a riding lawn mower producing the same amount of pollution in one hour of use as 34 cars.^[34]

In recent years,^[when?] some municipalities have banned synthetic pesticides and fertilizers and required organic land care techniques be used.^[35] There are many locations with organic lawns that require organic landscaping.^{[citation needed]}

Prior to European colonization, the grasses on the East Coast of North America were mostly broom straw, wild rye, and marsh grass. As Europeans moved into the region, it was noted by colonists in New England, more than others, that the grasses of the New World were inferior to those of England and that their livestock seemed to receive less nutrition from it. In fact, once livestock brought overseas from Europe spread throughout the colonies, much of the native grasses of New England disappeared, and an inventory list from the 17th century noted supplies of clover and grass seed from England. New colonists were even urged by their country and companies to bring grass seed with them to North America. By the late 17th century, a new market in imported grass seed had begun in New England.^[17]

Much of the new grasses brought by Europeans spread quickly and effectively, often ahead of the colonists. One such species, Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), became the most important pasture grass for the southern colonies.^{[citation needed]}

Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis) is a grass native to Europe or the Middle East. It was likely carried to Midwestern United States in the early 1600s by French missionaries and spread via the waterways to the region around Kentucky. However, it may also have spread across the Appalachian Mountains after an introduction on the east coast.^{[citation needed]}

Farmers at first continued to harvest meadows and marshes composed of indigenous grasses until they became overgrazed. These areas quickly fell to erosion and were overrun with less favorable plant life. Soon, farmers began to purposefully plant new species of grass in these areas, hoping to improve the quality and quantity of hay to provide for their livestock as native species had a lower nutritive value. While Middle Eastern and Europeans species of grass did extremely well on the East Coast of North America, it was a number of grasses from the Mediterranean that dominated the Western seaboard. As cultivated grasses became valued for their nutritional benefits to livestock, farmers relied less and less on natural meadows in the more colonized areas of the country. Eventually even the grasses of the Great Plains were overrun with European species that were more durable to the grazing patterns of imported livestock.^[17]

A pivotal factor in the spread of the lawn in America was the passage of legislation in 1938 of the 40-hour work week. Until then, Americans had typically worked half days on Saturdays, leaving little time to focus on their lawns. With this legislation and the housing boom following the Second World War, managed grass spaces became more commonplace.^[28] The creation in the early 20th century of country clubs and golf courses completed the rise of lawn culture.^[17]

According to study based on satellite observations by Cristina Milesi, NASA Earth System Science, its estimates: "More surface area in the United States is devoted to lawns than to individual irrigated crops such as corn or wheat.... area, covering about 128,000 square kilometers in all."^[36]

Lawn monoculture was a reflection of more than an interest in offsetting depreciation, it propagated the homogeneity of the suburb itself. Although lawns had been a recognizable feature in English residences since the 19th century, a revolution in industrialization and monoculture of the lawn since the Second World War fundamentally changed the ecology of the lawn. Money and ideas flowed back from Europe after the U.S. entered WWI, changing the way Americans interacted with themselves and nature, and the industrialization of war hastened the industrialization of pest control.^[37] Intensive suburbanization both concentrated and expanded the spread of lawn maintenance which meant increased inputs in not only petrochemicals, fertilizers, and pesticides, but also natural resources like water.^[2][17][28]

Lawns became a means of performing class values for the urban middle class, in which the condition of the lawn becomes representative of moral character and social reliability. The social values associated with lawns are promoted and upheld by social pressure, laws, and chemical producers. Social pressure comes from neighbors or homeowner associations who think that the unkempt lawns of neighbors may affect their own property values or create eyesores. Pressures to maintain a lawn are also legal; there are often local or state laws against letting weeds get too tall or letting a lawn space be especially unkempt, punishable by fees or litigation. Chemical producers unwilling to lose business propagate the ideal of a lawn, making it seem unattainable without chemical aid.^[12]

Front lawns became standardized in the 1930s when, over time, specific aspects such as grass type and maintenance methods became popular. The lawn-care industry boomed, but the Great Depression of the 1930s and in the period prior to World War II made it difficult to maintain the cultural standards that had become heavily associated with the lawn due to grass seed shortages in Europe, America's main supplier. Still, seed distributors such as Scotts Miracle-Gro Company in the United States encouraged families to continue to maintain their lawns, promoting it as a stress-relieving hobby. During the war itself, homeowners were asked to maintain the appearances of the home front, likely as a show of strength, morale, and solidarity. After World War II, the lawn aesthetic once again became a standard feature of North America, bouncing back from its minor decline in the decades before with a vengeance, particularly as a result of the housing and population boom post-war.^[17]

The VA loan in the United States let American ex-servicemen buy homes without providing a down payment, while the Federal Housing Administration offered lender inducements that aided the reduction of down payments for the average American from 30% to as little as 10%. These developments made owning your own home cheaper than renting, further enabling the spread of suburbia and its lawns.^[28]

Levittown, New York, was the beginning of the industrial suburb in the 20th century, and by proxy the industrial lawn. Between 1947 and 1951, Abraham Levitt and his sons built more than seventeen thousand homes, each with its own lawn. Abraham Levitt wrote "No single feature of a suburban residential community contributes as much to the charm and beauty of the individual home and the locality as well-kept lawns". Landscaping was one of the most important factors in Levittown's success – and no feature was more prominent than the lawn. The Levitts understood that landscaping could add to the appeal of their developments and claimed that, "increase in values are most often found in neighborhoods where lawns show as green carpets" and that, over the years, "lawns trees and shrubs become more valuable both aesthetically and monetarily".^[38] During 1948, the first spring that Levittown had enjoyed, Levitt and Sons fertilized and reseeded all of the lawns free of charge.^[28]

The economic recession that began in 2008 has resulted in many communities worldwide to dig up their lawns and plant fruit and vegetable gardens.^{[citation needed]} This has the potential to greatly change cultural values attached to the lawn, as they are increasingly viewed as environmentally and economically unviable in the modern context.^[39]

The appearance of the lawn in Australia followed closely after its establishment in North America and parts of Europe. Lawn was established on the so-called "nature strip" (a uniquely Australian term) by the 1920s and was common throughout the developing suburbs of Australia. By the 1950s, the Australian-designed Victa lawn mower was being used by the many people who had turned pastures into lawn and was also being exported to dozens of countries.^[40] Prior to the 1970s, all brush and native species were stripped from a development site and replaced with lawns that utilized imported plant species. Since the 1970s there has been an interest in using indigenous species for lawns, especially considering their lower water requirements.^[41] Lawns are also established in garden areas as well as used for the surface of sporting fields.^{[citation needed]}

Over time, with consideration to the frequency of droughts in Australia, the movement towards "naturalism", or the use of indigenous plant species in yards, was beneficial. These grasses were more drought resistant than their European counterparts, and many who wished to keep their lawns switched to these alternatives or allowed their green carpets to revert to the indigenous scrub in an effort to reduce the strain on water supplies.^[39] However, lawns remain a popular surface and their practical and aesthetically pleasing appearance reduces the use of water-impervious surfaces such as concrete. The growing use of rainwater storage tanks has improved the ability to maintain them.^{[citation needed]}

Following recent droughts,^[when?] Australia has seen a change to predominately warm-season turfgrasses, particularly in the southern states like New South Wales and Victoria which are predominately temperate climates within urban regions. The more drought tolerant grasses have been chosen by councils and homeowners for the choice of using less water compared to cool-season turfgrasses like fescue and ryegrass. Mild dormancy seems to be of little concern when high-profile areas can be oversown for short periods or nowadays, turf colourants (fake green) are very popular.^{[citation needed]}

Lawns are a common feature of private gardens, public landscapes and parks in many parts of the world. They are created for aesthetic pleasure, as well as for sports or other outdoor recreational use. Lawns are useful as a playing surface both because they mitigate erosion and dust generated by intensive foot traffic and because they provide a cushion for players in sports such as rugby, football, soccer, cricket, baseball, golf, tennis, field hockey, and lawn bocce.^{[citation needed]}

Lawns and the resulting lawn clipping waste can be used as an ingredient in making compost and is also viewed as fodder, used in the production of lawn clipping silage which is fed to livestock^[42][43] as a sustainable feed source.

Lawns need not be, and have not always been, made up of grasses alone. There exist, for instance, moss lawns, clover lawns, thyme lawns, and tapestry lawns (made from diverse forbs). Sedges, low herbs and wildflowers, and other ground covers that can be walked upon are also used.^{[citation needed]}

Thousands of varieties of grasses and grasslike plants are used for lawns, each adapted to specific conditions of precipitation and irrigation, seasonal temperatures, and sun/shade tolerances. Plant hybridizers and botanists are constantly creating and finding improved varieties of the basic species and new ones, often more economical and environmentally sustainable by needing less water, fertilizer, pest and disease treatments, and maintenance. The three basic categories are cool season grasses, warm season grasses, and grass alternatives.^{[citation needed]}

Many different species of grass are currently used, depending on the intended use and the climate. Coarse grasses are used where active sports are played, and finer grasses are used for ornamental lawns for their visual effects. Some grasses are adapted to oceanic climates with cooler summers, and others to tropical and continental climates with hotter summers. Often, a mixture of grass or low plant types is used to form a stronger lawn when one type does better in the warmer seasons and the other in the colder ones. This mixing is taken further by a form of grass breeding which produces what are known as cultivars. A cultivar is a cross-breed of two different varieties of grass and aims to combine certain traits taken from each individual breed. This creates a new strain which can be very specialised, suited to a particular environment, such as low water, low light or low nutrient.^{[citation needed]}

Cool season grasses start growth at 5 °C (41 °F), and grow at their fastest rate when temperatures are between 10 °C (50 °F) and 25 °C (77 °F), in climates that have relatively mild/cool summers, with two periods of rapid growth in the spring and autumn.^[44] They retain their color well in extreme cold and typically grow very dense, carpetlike lawns with relatively little thatch.^{[citation needed]}

• Bluegrass (Poa spp.)
• Bentgrass (Agrostis spp.)
• Ryegrasses (Lolium spp.)
• Fescues (Festuca spp.)
• Feather reed grass (Calamagrostis spp.)
• Tufted hair grass (Deschampsia spp.)

Warm season grasses only start growth at temperatures above 10 °C (50 °F), and grow fastest when temperatures are between 25 °C (77 °F) and 35 °C (95 °F), with one long growth period over the spring and summer (Huxley 1992). They often go dormant in cooler months, turning shades of tan or brown. Many warm season grasses are quite drought tolerant, and can handle very high summer temperatures, although temperatures below −15 °C (5 °F) can kill most southern ecotype warm season grasses. The northern varieties, such as buffalograss and blue grama, are hardy to 45 °C (113 °F).

• Zoysiagrass (Zoysia spp.)
• Bermudagrass (Cynodon spp.)
• St. Augustine grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum)
• Bahiagrass (Paspalum spp.)
• Centipedegrass (Eremochloa ophiuroides)
• Carpet grass (Axonopus spp.)
• Buffalograss (Bouteloua dactyloides)
• Grama grass (Bouteloua spp.)
• Kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandestinum)

Grass seed mixes have been developed to include only grass seed species that grow will in low sunlight conditions. These seed mixes are designed to deal with light shade caused by trees that can create patchiness, or slightly heavier shade that prevents the full growth of grass. Most lawns will experience shade in some shape or form due to surrounding fences, furniture, trees or hedges and these grass seed species' are especially useful in the Northern Hemisphere and Northwestern Europe.^[45]

• Festuca rubra subsp. commutata (Chewings Fescue)
• Poa pratensis (Smooth Stalked Meadow Grass)
• Festuca ovina (Sheeps Fescue)
• Festuca trachyphylla (hard fescue)
• Festuca rubra (Strong Creeping Red Fescue)

Carex species and cultivars are well represented in the horticulture industry as 'sedge' alternatives for 'grass' in mowed lawns and garden meadows. Both low-growing and spreading ornamental cultivars and native species are used in for sustainable landscaping as low-maintenance and drought-tolerant grass replacements for lawns and garden meadows. Wildland habitat restoration projects and natural landscaping and gardens also use them for 'user-friendly' areas. The J. Paul Getty Museum has used Carex pansa (meadow sedge) and Carex praegracilis (dune sedge) expansively in the Sculpture Gardens in Los Angeles.^[46]

Some lower sedges used are:

• Carex caryophyllea (cultivar 'The Beatles')
• C. divulsa (Berkeley sedge)^[46]
• C. glauca (blue sedge) (syn. C. flacca)
• C. pansa (meadow sedge)^[46]
• C. praegracilis (dune sedge)^[46]
• C. subfusca (mountain sedge)^[46]
• C. tumulicola (foothill sedge) (cultivar 'Santa Cruz Mnts. selection')^[46]
• C. uncifolia (ruby sedge)

Moss lawns do well in shaded areas under trees, and require only about 1% of the water of a traditional grass lawn once established.^[48][47][49] Clover lawns do especially well in damp, alkaline soils. Yarrow lawns are drought resistant, can be mowed to form a soft, comfortable turf; common yarrow is native throughout Europe, North America, and parts of Asia, and spreads vegetatively to cover the ground.^[50][51][52] Camomile lawns and thyme lawns are fragrant (and native to Europe an North Africa). Soleirolia soleirolii favours shaded, damp spaces (and is often used in tsubo-niwas); it is native to the European side of the Mediterranean, and can be invasive elsewhere.^[53]

Other low ground covers suitable for lawns include Corsican mint (native to three mediterranean islands, invasive), Ophiopogon planiscapus (native to Japan),^[53] Lippia^[54] and lawnleaf,^[55] (native to Central America and southern North America),^[55][54] purple flowering Mazus (native to East Asia), grey Dymondia (native to South Africa), creeping sedums (various species native to various continents),^[54] Cotula species (ditto),^[55] and creeping jenny (native to Europe).^[54]

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Some plants native to Eastern North America that can be used as alternatives to grass lawns or incorporated into lawns are:^{[56][57][58][59]}

• Common yarrow
• Virginia springbeauty^[60]
• Wild strawberry
• Dwarf cinquefoil
• Moss phlox
• Creeping phlox
• Sensitive fern
• Canadian wild ginger
• Cinnamon fern
• Lyreleaf sage^[61]
• Allegheny pachysandra
• Woodland stonecrop
• Green-and-gold
• Beetleweed
• Blue-eyed grass
• Common blue violet
• Dwarf crested iris
• Wild pink
• Purple wood sorrel
• Spotted cranesbill

Alternatives to lawns include meadows, drought-tolerant xeriscape gardens, natural landscapes, native plant habitat gardens, paved Spanish courtyard and patio gardens, butterfly gardens, rain gardens, and kitchen gardens. Trees and shrubs in close proximity to lawns provide habitat for birds in traditional, cottage and wildlife gardens.^{[62][citation needed]}

Seasonal lawn establishment and care varies depending on the climate zone and type of lawn grown.^{[citation needed]}

Early autumn, spring, and early summer are the primary seasons to seed, lay sod (turf), plant 'liners', or 'sprig' new lawns, when the soil is warmer and air cooler. Seeding is the least expensive, but may take longer for the lawn to be established. Aerating just before planting/seeding may promote deeper root growth and thicker turf.^[63]

Sodding (American English), or turfing (British English), provides an almost instant lawn, and can be undertaken in most temperate climates in any season, but is more expensive and more vulnerable to drought until established. Hydroseeding is a quick, less expensive method of planting large, sloped or hillside landscapes. Some grasses and sedges are available and planted from 'liner' and 4-inch (100 mm) containers, from 'flats', 'plugs' or 'sprigs', and are planted apart to grow together.^{[citation needed]}

Lawn growth, 20-hour time lapse

Various organic and inorganic or synthetic fertilizers are available, with instant or time-release applications. Pesticides, which includes biological and chemical herbicides, insecticides and fungicides, treating diseases like gray leaf spot, are available. Consideration for their effects on the lawn and garden ecosystem and via runoff and dispersion on the surrounding environment, inform laws constraining their use. For example, the Canadian province of Quebec and over 130 municipalities prohibit the use of synthetic lawn pesticides.^[64] The Ontario provincial government promised in September 2007 to also implement a province-wide ban on the cosmetic use of lawn pesticides, for protecting the public. Medical and environmental groups supported such a ban.^[65]

On 22 April 2008, the Provincial Government of Ontario announced that it would pass legislation that would prohibit, province-wide, the cosmetic use and sale of lawn and garden pesticides.^[66] The Ontario legislation would also echo Massachusetts law requiring pesticide manufacturers to reduce the toxins they use in production.^[67] Experts^[who?] advise that a healthy lawn contains at least some "weeds" and insects, discouraging indiscriminate use of potentially harmful chemicals.^[34]

Sustainable gardening uses organic horticulture methods, such as organic fertilizers, biological pest control, beneficial insects, and companion planting, among other methods, to sustain an attractive lawn in a safe garden. An example of an organic herbicide is corn gluten meal, which releases an 'organic dipeptide' into the soil to inhibit root formation of germinating weed seeds. An example of an organic alternative to insecticide use is applying beneficial nematodes to combat soil-dwelling grubs, such as the larvae of chafer beetles. The Integrated Pest Management approach is a coordinated low impact approach.^[68]

Maintaining a rough lawn requires only occasional cutting with a suitable machine, or grazing by animals. Maintaining a smooth and closely cut lawn, be it for aesthetic or practical reasons or because social pressure from neighbors and local municipal ordinances requires it,^[69] necessitates more organized and regular treatments. Usually once a week is adequate for maintaining a lawn in most climates. However, in the hot and rainy seasons of regions contained in hardiness zones greater than 8, lawns may need to be maintained up to two times a week.^[70]

Low-maintenance alternatives to traditional turfgrass lawns reduce the need for frequent mowing, watering and chemical inputs.^[71]

The prevalence of the lawns in films such as Pleasantville (1998) and Edward Scissorhands (1990) alludes to the importance of the lawn as a social mechanism that gives great importance to visual representation of the American suburb as well as its practised culture. It is implied that a neighbor whose lawn is not in pristine condition is morally corrupt, emphasizing the role a well-kept lawn plays in neighborly and community relationships. In both of these films, green space surrounding a house in the suburbs becomes an indicator of moral integrity as well as of social and gender norms – lawn care has long been associated^{[by whom?]} with men. These lawns also reinforce class and societal norms by subtly excluding those who may not have been able to afford a house with a lawn.^[72]

The lawn as a reflection of someone's character and the neighborhood at large is not restricted to films; the same theme appears in The Great Gatsby (1925), by American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald.^[73] Character Nick Carraway rents the house next to Gatsby's and fails to maintain his lawn according to West Egg standards. The rift between the two lawns troubles Gatsby to the point that he dispatches his gardener to mow Carraway's grass and thereby establish uniformity.^{[citation needed]}

Most lawn-care equipment over the decades has been advertised to men, and companies have long associated good lawn-care with good citizenship in their marketing campaigns. The appearance of a healthy lawn was meant^{[by whom?]} to imply the health of the man taking care of it; controlled weeds and strict boundaries became a practical application of the desire to control nature, as well as an expression of control over personal lives once working full-time became central to suburban success. Women were encultured over time to view the lawn as part of the household, as an essential furnishing, and to encourage their husbands to maintain a lawn for the family and community reputation.^[17]

During World War II (1939–1945), women became the focus of lawn-care companies in the absence of their husbands and sons. These companies promoted lawn care as a necessary means by which women could help support their male family-members and American patriotism as a whole. The image of the lawn changed from focusing on technology and manhood to emphasizing aesthetic pleasure and the health benefits derived from its maintenance; advertisers at lawn care companies assumed that women would not respond positively to images of efficiency and power. The language of these marketing campaigns still intended to imbue the female population with notions of family, motherhood, and the duties of a wife; it has been argued^{[by whom?]} that this was done so that it would be easier for men returning from war to resume the roles which their wives had taken over in their absence. This was especially apparent in the 1950s and 1960s, when lawn-care rhetoric emphasized the lawn as a husband's responsibility and as a pleasurable hobby when he retired.^[17]

There are differences in the particulars of lawn maintenance and appearance, such as the length of the grass, species (and therefore its color), and mowing.^[41][74]

On average, greater amounts of chemical fertilizer, herbicide and pesticide are used to maintain a given area of lawn than on an equivalent area of cultivated farmland.^[75][28] The use of these products causes environmental pollution, disturbance in the lawn ecosystem, and health risks to humans and wildlife.^[76]

In response to environmental concerns, organic landscaping and organic lawn management systems have been developed and are mandated in some municipalities and properties. In the United Kingdom, the environmental group Plantlife has encouraged gardeners to refrain from mowing in the month of May to encourage plant diversity and provide nectar for insects.^[77]

Other concerns, criticisms, and ordinances regarding lawns arise from wider environmental consequences:

• Lawns can reduce biodiversity, especially when the lawn covers a large area.^[78] Traditional lawns often replace plant species that feed pollinators, requiring bees and butterflies to cross "wastelands" to reach food and host plants.^[79] Lawns promote homogenization and are normally cleared of unwanted plant and animal species, typically with synthetic pesticides, which can also kill unintended target species. They may be composed of introduced species not native to the area, particularly in the United States. This can produce a habitat that supports a reduced number of wildlife species.^[80]
• Lawn maintenance commonly involves use of fertilizers and synthetic pesticides, which can cause great harm. Some are carcinogens and endocrine disruptors. They may permanently linger in the environment and negatively affect the health of potentially all nearby organisms. The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimated in 2012 that nearly 32,000,000 kilograms (71,000,000 lb) of active pesticide ingredients are used on suburban lawns each year in the United States.^[81] There are indications of an emerging regulatory response to this issue. For example, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Kuwait, and Belize have placed restrictions on the use of the herbicide 2,4-D.
• It has been estimated that nearly 64,000,000 litres (14,000,000 imp gal; 17,000,000 US gal) of gasoline are spilled each summer while re-fueling garden and lawn-care equipment in the United States: approximately 50% more than that spilled during the Exxon Valdez incident.^[28]
• The use of pesticides and fertilizers, requiring fossil fuels for manufacturing, distribution, and application, has been shown to contribute to global warming. (Sustainable organic techniques have been shown to help reduce global warming.)^[82] A hectare of lawn in Nashville, Tennessee, produces greenhouse gases equivalent to 697 to 2,443 kg of carbon dioxide a year. The higher figure is equivalent to a flight more than halfway around the world. Lawn mowing is one element of lawn culture that causes a great amount of emissions (which can be mitigated by replacing lawn mowers with grazing livestock). ^[83]

Maintaining a green lawn sometimes requires large amounts of water. While natural rainfall is usually sufficient to maintain a lawn's health in the temperate British Isles- the birthplace of the concept of the lawn- in times of drought hosepipe bans may be implemented by the water suppliers.^[84] Conversely, exportation of the lawn ideal to more arid regions (e.g. U.S. Southwest and Australia) strains water supply systems when water supplies are already scarce. This necessitates upgrades to larger, more environmentally invasive equipment to deal with increased demand due to lawn watering. Grass typically goes dormant during periods of cold or heat outside of its preferred temperature ranges; dormancy reduces the grasses' water demand. Most grasses typically recover quite well from a drought, but many property owners become concerned about the brown appearance and increase watering during the summer months. Water in Australia observed 1995 data that up to 90% of the water used in Canberra during summer drought periods was used for watering lawns.^[85]

In the United States, 50 to 70% of residential water is used for landscaping, with most used to water lawns.^[81] A 2005 NASA study estimated conservatively 128,000 square kilometres (49,000 sq mi; 32,000,000 acres) of irrigated lawn in the US, three times the area of irrigated corn.^[86] That translates to about 200 US gallons (760 L; 170 imp gal) of drinking-quality fresh water per person per day is required to keep up United States' lawn surface area.^{[citation needed]}

In 2022, the state of Nevada pass a bill that not only banned the installation of new lawns in the state, but also mandated the removal of any lawn deemed "nonfunctional." This was in response to a years-long drought in the state. ^[87]

An increased concern from the general public over pesticide and fertilizer use and their associated health risks, combined with the implementation of the legislation, such as the US Food Quality Protection Act, has resulted in the reduced presence of synthetic chemicals, namely pesticides, in urban landscapes such as lawns in the late 20th century.^[88] Many of these concerns over the safety and environmental impact of some of the synthetic fertilizers and pesticides has led to their ban by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and many local governments.^[76] The use of pesticides and other chemicals to care for lawns has also led to the death of nearly 7 million birds each year, a topic that was central to the novel Silent Spring by the conservationist Rachel Carson.^[28]

The use of lawn chemicals made its first appearance in the 18th century through the introduction of "English garden" fads. These types of lawns put precise hedging, clean cut grass, and extravagant plants on display. Following the initial introduction of lawn chemicals, they have still been continually used throughout North America. Because many of the turf-grass species in North America are not native to our ecosystems, they require extensive maintenance. According to the United States Geological Survey, 99% of the urban water samples that were tested contained one or more types of pesticides. In addition to water contamination, chemicals are making their way into houses which can lead to chronic exposure. Currently, standards for pesticide management practices have been put in place through the Food Quality Protection Act.^[12]

In the United States, lawn heights are generally maintained by gasoline-powered lawn mowers, which contribute to urban smog during the summer months.^[89] The EPA found, in some urban areas, up to 5% of smog was due to small gasoline engines made before 1997, such as are typically used on lawn mowers. Since 1997, the EPA has mandated emissions controls on newer engines in an effort to reduce smog.^[90]

A 2010 study seemed to show lawn care inputs were balanced by the carbon sequestration benefits of lawns, and they may not be contributors to anthropogenic global warming.^[91][92] Lawns with high maintenance (mowing, irrigation, and leaf blowing) and high fertilization rates have a net emission of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide that have large global warming potential.^[93] Lawns that are fertilized, irrigated, and mowed weekly have a lower species diversity.^[94]

Replacing turf grass with low-maintenance groundcovers or employing a variety of low-maintenance perennials, trees and shrubs^[80] can be a good alternative to traditional lawn spaces, especially in hard-to-grow or hard-to-mow areas, as it can reduce maintenance requirements, associated pollution and offers higher aesthetic and wildlife value.^[95][71] Growing a mixed variety of flowering plants instead of turfgrass is sometimes referred to as meadowscaping.^[96]

Lawns take up space that could otherwise be used more productively, such as for urban agriculture or home gardening. This is the case in many cities and suburbs in the United States, where open or unused spaces are "not generally a result of a positive decision to leave room for some use, but rather is an expression of a pastoral aesthetic norm that prizes spacious lawns and the zoning restrictions and neighborhood covenants that give these norms the force of law."^[97]

In urban and suburban spaces, growing food in front yards and parking strips can not only provide fresh produce but also be a source of neighborhood pride.^[98] While converting lawn space into strictly utilitarian farms is not common, incorporating edible plants into front yards with sustainable and aesthetically pleasing design is of growing interest in the United States.^[99]

• Bacterial lawn
• Moss lawn
• Tapestry lawn
• Organic lawn management
• Gardening
• List of organic gardening and farming topics

• Bormann, F. Herbert, et al. (1993) Redesigning the American Lawn.
• Hessayon, D. G. (1997). The Lawn Expert. Expert. ISBN 978-0-903505-48-2.
• Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Lawns: Ch. 3: pp. 26–33. Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-47494-5.
• Jenkins, V. S. (1994). The Lawn: A History of an American Obsession. Smithsonian Books. ISBN 1-56098-406-6.
• Steinberg, T. (2006). American Green, The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn. W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-393-06084-5.
• Wasowski, Sally and Andy (2004). Requiem for a Lawnmower.

• "Planting and care of Lawns" from the UNT Govt. Documents Dept.
• Integrated Pest Management Program: website & search-engine
• How to look after your Lawn
• Lawn Care University at Michigan State University
• "EPA Management of Polluted Runoff: Nonpoint Source Pollution" (includes mismanagement of lawns problems.)