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Strongtowns did a rundown on it [1]. It's often a feature of midsize town zoning laws, not just HOA busybodyness.

[1] https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/7/28/grassy-lawns-e...

Here in Australia, the local council expects you to keep the nature strip, or verge, between the road and the pavement looking presentable but anything behind the front fence is your own creation.

And so the 'front lawn' is my vegie patch. Potatoes are dead easy to grow from eyes and pumpkins (winter squash) self-germinate from compost. This summer I'm experimenting with Jerusalem artichokes, which sprouted from 70¢ worth of store-bought tubers.

All you need is water and a spade - and no lawn police, I guess.

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