Gardens, City Life, and Culture

A World Tour

Edited by Michel Conan

Edited by Chen Wangheng

    Gardens have exerted a deep influence on the culture of cities. Considering each city as a whole, this book presents the profoundly different roles of gardens in cultural development and social life. Private and princely gardens, from Roman antiquity to approximately 1850, are considered, whether in China, India, the Ottoman Empire, Europe, or the United States. Turning to the subject of planning, the dire lack of a municipal garden policy is examined in contemporary Marrakech. 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 U.S. New Towns of the 1960s. This book unveils an exciting domain of interplay between public and private action that is little known by citizen groups, city planners, and managers.

  • Cover: Gardens, City Life, and Culture
  • A photo of the author

Michel Conan is the former Director of Garden and Landscape Studies, Dumbarton Oaks.

Chen Wangheng is Professor of Humanities at Wuhan University.