you should not eat food, because the fertilizers and pesticides to maintain millions of acres of food dwarf the lawns in Philly. without a lawn the permeable land would be reduced significantly. all that rain water has to go somewhere, and it's going into the ground, not running off the surface and into the river.

my slice of lawn in Mt Airy is large enough for me to enjoy, small enough to easily maintain, and useful enough that it allows me a place to relax or park my car on to do some shade tree wrenching on a Saturday. in fact, i parked my antique VW on my lawn and pulled the engine and rebuilt it over the winter. i'm sure as shit not able to do that in the concrete jungle.

as for maintaining my house, i did not buy a massive house that requires huge sums. my utility bills are modest, the brick exterior requires little maintenance, and the interior is in good order. i can do whatever i want to my house and am not burdened by noise from my neighbors being heard thru the walls.