As cities around the world increase in density, and the number of urban green spaces decrease, the role cemeteries play is becoming increasingly important. Highly vegetated cemeteries can provide important public green spaces in urban environments and give recreational opportunities to city residents. They are also important historical and cultural landscapes, and as places of burial they contain special sacred and social meanings. Cemeteries are complex places that can have a myriad of meaning and uses.

This research examines cross-national differences between cemeteries in Sweden and the United States. It uses a case study method to compare two large historical cemeteries in urban environments: Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York in the United States and the Östra kyrkogården (Eastern Cemetery) in Malmö, Sweden. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers in both cemeteries complemented by site observations.

This study explores differences in cemetery management, funding and form, and how these factors can affect the recreational usage of these spaces as public urban green space. The research compares how the funding differences between the United States and Sweden regarding the private versus public funding of cemeteries and burials affects cemetery management differences. It also examines how the physical form of a cemetery can affect public accessibility, use as urban green space and landscape management practices.

Public use of Östra kyrkogården and Green-Wood Cemetery as recreational urban green spaces has changed over time. Both cemeteries show how differences in management and physical form can affect public accessibility and their multifunctional usage as urban green spaces. National differences in private versus public cemetery funding, along with burial in perpetuity in the United States compared to grave reuse in Sweden, also have ramifications for the evolution and preservation of cemeteries.

随着世界各地城市密度的增加和城市绿地数量的减少，墓地的作用变得越来越重要。植被茂盛的墓地可以在城市环境中提供重要的公共绿地，并为城市居民提供休闲娱乐的机会。它们也是重要的历史和文化景观，作为墓地，它们具有特殊的神圣和社会意义。公墓是复杂的地方，可以有多种含义和用途。

这项研究考察了瑞典和美国公墓之间的跨国差异。它使用案例研究方法比较了城市环境中的两个大型历史公墓：美国纽约布鲁克林的绿木公墓和瑞典马尔默的Östrakyrkogården（东部公墓）。在两个墓地与经理进行了半结构化访谈，并辅以实地观察。

这项研究探讨了墓地管理，资金和形式上的差异，以及这些因素如何影响这些空间作为公共城市绿色空间的娱乐用途。该研究比较了美国和瑞典之间关于公墓和墓葬的私人资金与公共资金的资金差异如何影响公墓的管理差异。它还研究了墓地的物理形式如何影响公众可及性，用作城市绿地和景观管理实践。

随着时间的推移，Östrakyrkogården和绿木公墓作为休闲城市绿地的公共用途已经发生了变化。两家公墓都表明，管理和物理形式的差异如何影响公众可及性及其作为城市绿地的多功能用途。私人和公共墓地资金的国家差异，以及与瑞典的墓地再利用相比，美国永久地埋葬，也对墓地的发展和保存产生了影响。