Lawn and Order: The Politics of Horti-Culture in Toronto

Abstract

The contemporary ‘lawn aesthetic’ for urban and suburban residential outdoor space in North America has a long history which connects it directly to the emergence of industrial capitalism and modern forms of power. This history is explored and the usefulness of idealist analyses of modern power (Foucault, Bauman) is tested. It is argued that modern reform movements that promoted residential gardening are part of a larger strategy to ensure the material bases of wealth creation through industrial labour exploitation and these ‘benevolent’ reforms cannot be understood apart from their instrumental and class-based motivations.

Keywords: Lawns, Reform, Industrial capitalism, Toronto, Exploitation, Class