English

The tree-lined grassy area to the right is a tree lawn

Noun

tree lawn ‎(plural tree lawns)

1. (Midwestern US) The grassy area between the sidewalk and the street.
   • 1998, D. Gail Abbey, U.S. Landscape Ordinances: An Annotated Reference Handbook:

     Detached sidewalks generally occur in residential areas and are normally separated from the curb by a tree lawn.

Usage notes

Designation of this area varies significantly from dialect to dialect; some dialects and idiolects do not include a term for this area,^[1] and instead use a circumlocution.^[2] The most common designations are "planting strip", "parking strip", "nature strip" and "tree lawn".

Synonyms

(grassy area between sidewalk and street): berm (regional, with other meanings), curb strip, devil strip / devil's strip (Akron, Ohio), nature strip (Australia), parkway (Chicago, Illinois) parking strip, planting strip, sidewalk buffer, utility strip, verge (England, Australia, New Zealand), neutral ground

See also

• avenue
• boulevard
• parkway

Translations

References

1. ↑ The triumph of slang (dead link) , John A. C. Greppin, 2002-02-01
2. ↑ Full Metal Racket: The perverse thrill of metal detecting, the world's worst hobby., by Emily Yoffe, Slate, 2003-08-18, refers to the area as “the grassy strip that runs along the street side of many D.C. sidewalks”.