From outdoor spaces to healthy scenes: promoting mental well-being through environmental design in university campuses

With the green transformation of urban and rural construction in China, the creation of people-oriented, healthy living environments has become a pressing priority. University campuses not only influence the physical and mental well-being of students and staff, but also contribute to broader healthy city strategies. This study reviewed how built environments could be re-shaped to promote health from a longitudinal perspective and constructed a theoretical framework of campus impacts on students’ mental well-being. Taking Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University as a case study, a questionnaire survey was conducted to analyze students’ preferences for outdoor spaces and activities, leading to the development of a perception-activity matrix. By integrating scene theory with biophilic design principles, specific design strategies were proposed for four types of healthy scenes in university campuses. The findings, by integrating environmental perceptions and healthy activities, provide theoretical and methodological references for the creation of healthy campus environments, offering evidence-based insights for future campus and healthy urban environment designs.