After living without that "aesthetically pleasing" grass, it seems alien to me now. What were we thinking to put down sod in the first place? Natives are way more interesting.
If your goals are to have a tiny sports field on your property, drive away rodents and insects before modern barrier methods existed, and your cultural style favored crisp clean uniformity, lawns make a lot of sense.
We now have modern sensibilities to know the value of native non sod lawns, and the classical "let's go throw the ball around sport" bonding time has shifted to other activities.
This is progress, and it's natural.
But let's not kid ourselves, people purposefully made their lawns, due to a mix of social pressure and personal usage patterns, and they liked it. Truly, people greatly enjoyed their yard the way it was. Now, we are looking for something different.
I'ma need some secondary succession in this cookie cutter suburban sprawl. Hell, with all the concrete and asphalt it might as well be primary succession.
