Gardens have always deeply influenced the culture of cities. This book considers each city as a whole, and presents the profoundly different roles played by gardens in cultural development and social life. The volume begins by focusing on private and princely gardens from Roman antiquity through the mid-nineteenth century, from China to the United States. Also considered is the subject of planning, with the dire lack of a municipal garden policy examined in both contemporary Beijing and Marrakech. Finally, in-depth evaluations of parks and garden planning reveal the successes and limitations of different policies in Stockholm, Tokyo, Kerala (India), historic Suzhou (China), and the “New Towns” of the 1960s. This book reveals an interplay between public and private action that is little known by citizen groups, city planners, and managers.