Pursue a compact-city agenda, which implies high-density and mixed-use cities. This gap between consumer preference and government policy has led many policy markers, planners and developers to design dwelling concepts for urban areas in which the private domestic garden is substitution makes sense or not by public green space. In this paper we investigate whether this substitution make sense or not by comparing the meaning people attach to both concepts. Our results clearly show that unique combinations of functions and meanings are attached to the domestic garden and public green space. Key aspects of public greenness space are it's contribution to the livability of the dwelling environment and to the experience of nature. A key feature of the domestic garden is that it is considered as an outdoor extension of the dwelling that affords casual leisure. So, public and private green spaces are not just simple substitutes for each other.