I had a professor in college (graphic design department) who was always questioning expected behavior and convention. One of his favorite things to do was cut through grass areas when the sidewalk design required a long-way-around approach. He got others to follow suite, and soon there were grooves in the grass similar to this photo. The school raised hell, but his response was that they should have designed the sidewalks for efficiency, not to look good in a satellite photo. He recommended that the school review these grass patterns, and adjust the sidewalks accordingly. You can probably guess how well that went over.