How Campus Landscapes in Northwest Anhui Heal Minds and Bodies
Imagine a busy college student, overwhelmed by exams and deadlines, finding a moment of peace sitting beside a tranquil campus pond or walking through a shaded grove of trees. This isn't just a pleasant break—it's a therapeutic experience with measurable psychological and physical benefits. In Northwest Anhui, researchers are discovering how thoughtfully designed campus landscapes significantly impact student wellbeing, from reducing stress and anxiety to encouraging social connection and even making outdoor spaces more comfortable in extreme weather.
Studies indicate that approximately 21.48% of college students may have depression risk and 45.28% may experience anxiety, making healing campus environments critically important 1 .
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when campus closures severely restricted student activities, the value of these outdoor spaces became particularly pronounced. Studies confirmed that campus green spaces became crucial psychological healing spaces for students confined to campus, serving as emotional anchors during stressful times 3 .
Natural environments help restore cognitive capabilities after mental fatigue.
Exposure to nature helps shift stress states to positive emotional states.
Well-designed spaces encourage interaction and pro-social behavior.
Two fundamental theories help explain why natural environments provide such powerful psychological benefits:
This theory suggests that natural environments help restore our cognitive capabilities after mental fatigue. Unlike urban environments that demand focused attention, nature captures our attention effortlessly through intriguing stimuli, allowing our directed attention mechanisms to recover 3 . This is particularly valuable for students spending long hours studying.
This theory proposes that exposure to nature helps shift stress states to positive emotional states while discouraging negative thoughts. Merely viewing plants or even pictures of nature has been proven to promote positive emotions 3 .
Research from neuroscience confirms that viewing, smelling, touching, hearing, and even tasting elements of nature can provide different degrees of emotional healing 3 . This multi-sensory approach explains why students report feeling more relaxed in spaces that engage multiple senses simultaneously.
Relative impact of different sensory experiences in natural environments on emotional healing
Researchers typically categorize campus landscapes into four main types, each offering unique benefits:
| Landscape Type | Key Characteristics | Documented Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Green Space | Woodlands, lawns, gardens with high vegetation coverage | Significant reduction in blood pressure, stress recovery, attention restoration 1 |
| Blue Space | Ponds, streams, fountains, other water features | Strong feelings of remoteness and glamor, relaxation, promotes pro-social behavior 1 |
| Gray Space | Plazas, courtyards, commuter spaces with hard surfaces | Promotes mental recovery through physical activity, encourages communication 1 |
| Movement Space | Pathways, athletic fields, exercise areas | Stress relief through physical activity, cognitive recovery 1 |
Comparative benefits of different campus landscape types
Provide the greatest stress recovery benefits, with experiments showing students' systolic blood pressure decreasing tens of times more in woodland settings compared to indoors 1 .
Offer particularly strong relaxation effects, providing students with stronger feelings of remoteness from academic pressures 1 .
When designed effectively with opportunities for social interaction and physical activity, can significantly improve mood and concentration 1 .
While psychological benefits are crucial, physical comfort in outdoor spaces determines how often students actually use them. Researchers at Anhui Jianzhu University conducted a detailed study to understand how different landscape configurations affect outdoor thermal comfort during both hot summer and cold winter periods—particularly relevant for Northwest Anhui's climate 2 .
The research team selected four distinct outdoor space types on campus:
Extensive areas with minimal overhead protection
Partial coverage from vegetation or structures
U-shaped areas surrounded on three sides
Courtyards completely surrounded by buildings
Using advanced monitoring equipment including fixed weather stations and portable weather devices positioned 1.5 meters above ground (approximating human height), researchers collected comprehensive microclimate data including air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation 2 .
The key metric for evaluating thermal comfort. PET represents how the human body perceives the combined effects of temperature, humidity, wind, and radiation—essentially, what temperature it "feels like" to the human body 2 .
The study yielded crucial insights about how landscape configuration affects thermal comfort:
| Space Type | Summer PET Range | Winter PET Range | Overall Comfort Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fully Open | Highest PET values | Moderate PET values | Low comfort in summer, moderate in winter |
| Semi-Open | Moderate-high PET | Moderate-low PET | Moderate year-round comfort |
| Semi-Enclosed | Moderate PET | Moderate-high PET | Highest overall comfort |
| Fully Enclosed | Moderate-low PET | Lowest PET values | Lowest overall comfort |
Thermal comfort (PET) across different space configurations in summer and winter
The research identified that semi-enclosed spaces (U-shaped layouts) provided the highest level of thermal comfort across seasons. These spaces offered optimal balance: sufficient summer shading while allowing winter sunlight penetration and protection from cold winds 2 .
Conversely, fully enclosed spaces showed the poorest thermal performance, particularly due to inadequate air circulation in summer and limited sunlight access in winter 2 .
The correlation analysis revealed that mean radiant temperature showed the highest correlation with thermal comfort, while wind speed demonstrated a significantly negative correlation with PET—meaning breezier locations felt cooler 2 . This explains why spaces with trees or building shade consistently showed better thermal comfort—the shade significantly reduced radiant temperatures.
Understanding how researchers study campus landscapes reveals why their findings are so reliable. The most comprehensive studies use multiple complementary approaches:
| Research Tool | Function | Application Example |
|---|---|---|
| Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) | Tests complex relationships between multiple variables | Modeling how landscape perception influences both psychological recovery and pro-social behavior 1 |
| ENVI-met Software | Simulates microclimate conditions in urban environments | Predicting temperature, humidity, and wind patterns in different campus spaces 2 |
| Fixed Weather Stations | Monitor long-term climate patterns | Providing baseline meteorological data for thermal comfort studies 2 |
| Portable Weather Instruments | Collect spot measurements at human height | Measuring microclimate conditions exactly where students experience the environment 2 |
| Emotional Attachment Scales | Quantify emotional connections to places | Measuring students' sense of belonging and emotional response to campus spaces 3 |
| Questionnaire Surveys | Gather subjective perceptions and preferences | Collecting student feedback on landscape preferences and perceived restoration 1 |
Physical measurements and statistical analysis provide objective metrics for comparing different landscape configurations and their impacts.
Emotional responses and preference surveys capture the human experience of campus landscapes.
The integration of both quantitative data and qualitative insights creates a comprehensive understanding of how students interact with and benefit from campus landscapes. This mixed-methods approach acknowledges that effective campus design must address both measurable comfort metrics and human emotional needs.
The research from Northwest Anhui and similar regions points toward several evidence-based principles for creating campus landscapes that actively support student wellbeing:
The thermal comfort research strongly supports designing U-shaped outdoor spaces that provide balanced sun exposure, wind protection, and comfortable microclimates throughout the year 2 .
Blue spaces provide disproportionate benefits for relaxation and pro-social behavior. Even small water elements can positively influence emotional states and encourage protective environmental attitudes 1 .
Recognize that plazas and courtyards support mental recovery primarily through facilitating physical activity and social interaction. These spaces should encourage movement and communication 1 .
Design landscapes that engage multiple senses through rustling leaves, fragrant plants, and textural variety, as neuroscience confirms these multi-sensory experiences enhance emotional healing 3 .
Design campuses as intentional therapeutic environments that heal both minds and bodies through science-informed design principles.
The compelling evidence from Northwest Anhui demonstrates that campus landscapes are far more than aesthetic additions—they're active contributors to student wellbeing, academic performance, and campus community. As educational institutions recognize this potential, we're likely to see more campuses designed as intentional therapeutic landscapes that heal both minds and bodies through science-informed design.
The next time you see a student relaxing beneath a campus tree or chatting with friends beside a courtyard fountain, remember—you're witnessing nature's classroom in session, delivering lessons in wellbeing that extend far beyond the traditional classroom walls.