The Artificial Turf

I caught this column in the Post this morning - Silver Spring's Turf.

 

The author is all about saving it, and I have to agree that Urban planning has to take into account these type of open spaces. College Universities have them. GW has Kogan Plaza and the Quad (like every other college campus). Urban Planners have to plan responsibly and not just go where the money goes.

 

The space is great for the weekly farmers markets, outdoor film festivals, jazz fest and so on. People hang out and relax on it, and people watch. It's a shame it'll be torn up for construction this spring.

 

BUT am I the only one who thinks artificial turf is also kinda creepy? Sitting on it makes the hairs on my neck stand up a bit, like it's going to get up and swallow me whole into it's pit of artificial astroness and It's victims will become agents of the turf, roaming around to conform others to its plastic turf laying until the world is converned in green astro turf. Or that its grass will start growing all of a sudden to drown me in a sea of green where it slowly decomposes its victims and grows more.

 

I'm all for saving it, infact, I'd like to take it to the next step. Let's make this Pinnoccio a real boy and plant some real grass, maybe a bush or two, a row of trees and some benches. That'd be cool.