In urbanized rivers and waterways, Constructed Floating Wetlands (CFWs) offer a nature-based solution for ecosystem restoration, particularly in areas with hardened shorelines and limited space for traditional land-based interventions. This four-year study deployed CFWs in two urban waterways in Seattle, Washington (the Lower Duwamish Waterway and the Lake Washington Ship Canal) to enhance salmon habitat by reintroducing wetland functions. Monitoring data from the organic plant root substrate revealed that CFWs effectively removed heavy metals and nutrients from the water in both freshwater and brackish environments. Importantly, no adverse effects were observed on key water quality parameters such as temperature, dissolved oxygen, or conductivity. While results related to carbon sequestration were mixed, the findings suggest that even small-scale CFW installations can contribute positively to water quality. Although the limited surface area of the CFWs constrained their overall treatment capacity, the study suggests that scaling up deployment could contribute to reducing contaminant and nutrient loading in urban waterways, while also benefiting aquatic organisms. These results offer support for the use of CFWs as a viable nature-based solution for retrofitting hardened shorelines and rehabilitating highly urbanized or industrialized aquatic environments; especially where land-based restoration is impractical due to cost or space constraints.

With the acceleration of globalization and urbanization, cities are increasingly facing challenges such as land scarcity and the degradation of industrial heritage. As spatial carriers of urban memory, industrial heritage landscapes demand innovative strategies for their conservation and adaptive reuse. The rapid advancement of digital technologies offers new approaches to documenting, analyzing, and presenting heritage resources. This study focuses on the industrial heritage landscapes of Beijing and adopts a research framework of “identification-analysis-construction” to explore its integration across physical, social, and digital dimensions. A mixed-methods approach is employed, combining literature review, geospatial analysis, and public perception surveys. In the identification phase, key heritage sites in Beijing are cataloged and mapped, resulting in a comprehensive database of their spatial distribution and current conditions. In the analysis phase, the study examines how these sites relate to land use, transportation systems, and levels of community engagement. For the construction phase, digital visualization and interactive strategies are proposed for both heritage managers and the general public. A conceptual digital platform for Beijing industrial heritage landscape is developed, allowing users to access historical information, engage in interactive experiences, and enhance their connection to these sites. The findings contribute valuable insights for future strategies in heritage conservation and community engagement.

This study examines the role of nature-based solutions in promoting mental health, well-being of older adults in nursing homes, focusing on the impact of green spaces, therapeutic landscapes. The research was conducted in Khooban, Ana nursing home in Tabriz, Iran. A questionnaire was distributed to277participants to collect data on socio-demographic information, landscape functions, security, facilities, preferences. A photo-based questionnaire featuring simulated images of the nursing home was utilized to evaluate preferences for the surrounding landscape. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. Factor analysis revealed two key dimensions of mental well-being: liveliness, sense of comfort. Diversity in vegetation, particularly the inclusion of aromatic trees, positively influenced the sense of liveliness among older adult residents. The presence of green spaces, especially views of greenery, significantly contributed to residents’ relaxation, overall mental well-being. The findings suggest that well-designed green spaces in nursing homes play a crucial role in enhancing residents’ mental well-being. Increasing tree diversity, creating green spaces in front of windows, incorporating flowers, aromatic plants can help establish a more peaceful, vibrant environment, ultimately improving the quality of life for older adults in nursing homes. Nature-based solutions, particularly the integration of diverse green spaces in nursing homes, have a significant positive impact on the mental well-being of older adults. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers, urban planners, healthcare professionals in creating environments conducive to healthy aging in nursing homes.

Street view imagery (SVI) is widely used in urban visual analysis and often treated as equivalent to eye-level perception. Yet its limitations and contextual applicability remain underexplored. This paper conducts a diagnostic viewpoint-level comparison of an image-based SVI pipeline and a 3D model-based field-of-view (FOV) method to clarify their respective weaknesses, strengths, and how they can be combined in practice (rather than treated as interchangeable or numerically fused). Using the West Lake ring road in Hangzhou as a case study, we analyze 2140 panoramas at 1075 viewpoints. The comparison shows systematic differences: SVI produces higher green shares (+0.16 on average), while FOV yields higher paved ground (+0.13) and building shares (+0.08). Sky differs little overall, water remains minor, and cross-method consistency varies by segment; SVI displays greater local variability linked to canopy occlusion and near-field heterogeneity. A small perception survey validates these findings. Terrain relief and building height were recognized more consistently in FOV, while vegetation and water abundance aligned more closely with SVI. Participants also judged overall ambience more easily from FOV’s structural stability, even though SVI conveyed greater visual realism. These results reveal clear complementarities: FOV provides structure-aware metrics, SVI emphasizes appearance cues, and neither alone captures lived perception. On this basis, we propose a combination-oriented three-layer workflow, with perception as a required validation layer to support reliable applications in skyline and openness control, interface and character management, greenery maintenance, and equity assessment.

Urban densification has made underground retail, transit and workspace indispensable, yet their absence of daylight and monotonous scenery compromise thermal comfort and heighten psychological stress. Whether vertical greening offsets these deficits remains quantitatively unresolved. In a climate-controlled underground chamber, 72 university students were randomly assigned to 5 %, 15 % or 25 % green-view-index (GVI) walls. Thermal comfort vote (TCV), 4 neurobehavioural metrics and physiological strain (blood pressure [BP], heart rate [HR], oxyhemoglobin saturation [SpO₂], eardrum temperature [ET]) were recorded pre- and post-exposure. Compared to the pre-intervention phase, TCV increased monotonically with GVI, reaching significance only at 25 % (+0.25, P < 0.05). The same dose yielded the largest reductions in reaction time (η²p = 0.31-0.38) and significant decreases in systolic BP (-1.91 mmHg) and HR (-1.98 bpm); smaller effects were observed at 5 % and 15 % (η²p < 0.14; BP -0.33/-0.82 mmHg; HR -0.11/-0.35 bpm). Our study establishes dose-response evidence that increasing green-wall density in underground environments systematically enhances thermal comfort and accelerates cognitive restoration while attenuating physiological stress, offering actionable thresholds for biophilic design in underground spaces.

Urban brownfields and degraded areas pose pressing environmental and social challenges, especially in metropolitan contexts shaped by industrial legacies and land-use transformations. Among the nature-based solutions available, phytoremediation, using plants to mitigate soil contamination, offers a sustainable, low-impact alternative to conventional reclamation techniques. Despite its ecological benefits, phytoremediation remains underused in urban planning due to uncertainties and long treatment times. This study applied a GIS-based multi criteria analysis integrating open source spatial data, soil parameters, and satellite image interpretation to identify suitable areas for phytoremediation within the Milan Metropolitan Area (MMA). A weighted evaluation framework was developed by considering soil characteristics (texture and organic carbon content), vegetation cover, site size, and total available free surface (areas not occupied by built structures) to calculate suitability indices. Results show that out of 720 mapped sites, approximately 40 % displayed good or high suitability for phytoremediation, highlighting important opportunities for sustainable soil regeneration within the urban fabric. Integrating environmental planning and landscape design perspectives, the findings support a broader vision of sustainable urban transformation and demonstrate how soil regeneration can play a critical role in shaping future green infrastructure and ecological networks.

With the growing prevalence of psychological stress among university students, optimizing campus environments to promote health has become increasingly important. However, existing campus plant landscapes often emphasize spatial function while neglecting health-oriented design. This study quantitatively evaluated how different plant community structures and colors influence students’ physiological and psychological wellbeing. Twenty-seven plots across four universities in Beijing were classified into nine structural types, and both field perception and color vision experiments were conducted to measure blood pressure, heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, and psychological responses. Results showed that multi-layered communities (arbor-shrub-grassland) produced the greatest reductions in systolic and diastolic pressure and heart rate, and the highest increase in blood oxygen saturation compared with single-layer or hardscape sites. Participants also exhibited significantly higher remoteness, coherence and fascination scores, suggesting enhanced environmental restorativeness. Regarding color, white, pink, purple, and blue flowers and green and yellow leaves most effectively reduced physiological stress and promoted positive emotions, while warm hues (red, orange, yellow) alleviated sadness and tension. This study proposes health-oriented campus planting models integrating community structure and color composition. The findings demonstrate that enriching plant community hierarchy and color diversity can effectively enhance students’ physiological relaxation and psychological restoration, offering a scientific basis for restorative campus landscape design.

With the backdrop of extreme rainfall and rapid urbanization, quantifying the runoff mitigation capacity of different types of urban green spaces (UGS) and spatially representing them holds significant importance for UGS design and planning aimed at sustainability and at managing stormwater-related public-health risks in healthy urban environments. This paper, taking Kunming City, China as a case study, develops a physics-guided, XGBoost-augmented SCS-CN framework that integrates normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and terrain metrics while enforcing basic hydrologic feasibility constraints. Using multi-source spatial data that includes 30 m Land Use and Land Cover Change (LUCC), resampled Hydrologic Soil Groups (HSG), and UGS types classified under Standard for Classification of Urban Green Space (CJJ/T 85-2017) and an event rainfall set spanning 1-166 mm, we evaluate runoff reduction across UGS types and compare the augmented model against the baseline Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) approach. Results show that the augmented model outperforms the baseline, with the most stable gains under moderate storms (approximately 20-120 mm), while maintaining physical consistency. Type-based comparisons reveal that EG-category UGS sustain higher and more stable runoff-reduction coefficients across most rainfall intervals, whereas several G-category and affiliated UGS show earlier efficiency decline as rainfall intensifies. At the city scale, runoff-reduction coefficients exhibit an inflection around 20-30 mm, which indicates a transition from a plateau phase to a sustained decline with larger storms. Feature attribution indicates that NDVI dominates runoff reduction under light to moderate rainfall, while rainfall intensity and slope become the primary drivers during heavy rainfall, with key interaction effects shifting around the mid-range storm depth. These findings support health-oriented planning strategies that prioritize canopy and soil-based retention for frequent small to moderate events and coordinate green-gray infrastructure to buffer overflow and associated public health exposures during heavy storms.

Designing restorative outdoor environmentlayouts is time-consuming, labor-intensive, tends to lack variety, yet Generative Adversarial Networksoffer a promising shortcut. However, controlled GAN-based ROE generation based on design semantics, early-stage systematic evaluation has been missing. Unlike previous studies that focused on visual entity generation, this study introduced semantically-labeled datasets to enable functional control over design elements such as walkability, therapeutic spaces. It aims to apply GANs in ROE layout design, determine the applicable characteristics, evaluate the generated results through qualitative, quantitative assessments. Three stylized datasets—“natural, ” “semi-artificial, ”, “artificial”— were used to train12models. The results show that Pix2Pix produces the best results, CycleGAN the worst. In the application stage, GauGAN performs the lowest practical creativity, though it produces the highest quality output in the test stage. Models trained on the “artificial” dataset show the most obvious main features in the test stage, those trained on the “natural” dataset display the most prominent style features in both the test, application stages. The “semi-artificial” images are mislabeled but inspire the models to produce better outputs. The quantitative, qualitative, application assessment progress progressively cross-validate GAN-generated ROE layouts, works. The study equips urban designers with valuable insights, practical experience in implementing GANs in the ROE layout design.

In an urbanised society where the built environment is becoming increasingly generic, natural systems are being revalued, restored, used to provide a sense of place. Despite these emerging changes, soil is still disregarded, mostly thought of in terms of its economic value. The underground remains highly unknown for non-scientific disciplines, is detached from what tends to be perceived as the landscape. Targeting the connection between soil, landscape identity, this research proposes a framework that facilitates an understanding of a given landscape, opportunities for personal exploration. Using a case study approach developed in the Wellington region, this research demonstrates that site-specific identities can be extracted from the underground. The proposed methodology can be adapted to different landscape conditions, sizes, conceiving soil as a material that connects to a specific place with specific qualities. Undertaking personal physical engagement with soil as a key part of the methodology, this study finds that a vocabulary of place cannot solely be extracted through a combination of desktop analysis, soil sample processing. By focusing on soil experiments involving horizons, soil profiles, their combinations, the historic evolution of a landscape through soil memory can be investigated in terms of colour, structure, texture, proportion. Ultimately, research findings highlight the connection between the aboveground, the belowground, suggesting that soil holds landscape identities that can be extracted to inform material palettes, site-responsive design strategies, place-based planning decisions that counter the increasingly generic built environment.

The abandonment or underutilization of former urban industrial lands, , their reconsideration as viable sites of recovery, regeneration in Bangkok, Thailand has resulted in the need for new modes of both research, design inquiry to be developed by landscape architects, urban designers. The location, particular types of brownfield sites within the city landscape, the methods, means, materials of creating innovative landscape environments with the very fabric of brownfield sites are introduced. Local perceptions towards these environmentally compromised sites along with academic responses through brownfield research are discussed alongside design speculations for the creative, legible reuse, integration of these vital sites through case studies of brownfield regeneration, reuse on landscapes. Finally, speculations are offered as to how this class of landscape will evolve in the city in the coming decade.

Contemporary uncertainty regarding future climate fundamentally reflects concerns about the spatial, temporal distribution of water resources, as well as the availability of fresh water. Landscape-based stormwater management systemsrespond to these challenges by addressing both severe droughts, devastating floods, improving water quality, integrating water cycles with urban forms. LbSMS respond to ecological, social imperatives while possessing unique aesthetics. This study started from the hypothesis that such aesthetics may play a “performative” role within the system by adding a cultural dimension to the more evident environmental, economic aspects of sustainability. This study interpreted the aesthetics that characterise LbSMS, using a methodology based on case study analysis, hermeneutics.Eight cases at the forefront of current design worldwide, located in different urban, sociocultural contexts were selected, which provided exemplary responses to diverse climate change-related threats.Data were retrieved using a framework developed by the authors for this study, which consists of12subitems organized under4items: sociocultural constructs, site conditions, design features, functions, processes.The information was interpreted, discussed according to Elizabeth Meyer’s11tenets manifesto “Sustaining Beauty: The Performance of Appearance”.The study concluded that the proposed methodology was instrumental in interpreting LbSMS, identifying its performative beauty. This methodology provides an additional valuable perspective to state-of-the-art studies in this field. The research concludes that exemplary LbSMS, through their synergistic response to a systemic problem, help create, promote a culture of sustainability that transcends ecological performance. This is achieved by designs that prioritise the dynamism of natural processes over natural forms, highlighting the art of landscape design, constructing experiences rooted in local contexts, histories. Ultimately, the authors highlight that the distinct resilient beauty of LbSMS emerges from how designers read, interpret the current disturbance regimes of extreme weather, flooding, drought, uncertainty, risk. The study concludes with a combination of categories of beauty, the sublime that characterises LbSMS aesthetics, conveying symbolism around water that unifies world regions in coping with climate stress.

The university campus is presented as a distinct and even defining type of landscape architecture practice. This case is made through a careful analysis of historical precedent. A goal is to clarify and elevate the central role that landscape architecture has played in campus planning. The campus idea emerged with the beginnings of landscape architecture in the United States, largely as a result of the work of Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr. and his sons John C. and Frederick Jr.. From these 19th century origins, the field of campus planning and design evolved. The 20th and 21st century contributions of several other landscape architects are noted as the concerns about environmentally responsible designs continued to advance. The campus idea has influenced university developments in other nations, including the People’s Republic of China and the Netherlands. University campuses continue to evolve as their planning adjusts to current issues and concerns, such as climate change. The SITES rating system is presented as a means for campuses to develop with more environmental responsibility.

Persistent sectoral fragmentation in governance actively hinders effective responses to the global biodiversity crisis. Landscape approachesemerge a direct countermeasure to this fragmentation, designed as integrative frameworks for managing socio-ecological systems through multi-functionality, multi-stakeholder governance, adaptability. Yet conceptual ambiguity, evaluation gaps, policy barriers challenge their implementation. This systematic review aggregates a10-yearspan of LA studies combining computational text analysiswith human full-text analysis of2682peer-reviewed articles—to map conceptual progress, governance arrangements, socio-ecological outcomes. Results indicate linear growth in research output by the US, Indonesia, China, reflecting geographic bias. Thematic focus shifted from broad landscapes to climate mitigation-linked carbon, forest science. Biophysical perspectives prevailed:66% of papers did not address social effects, 74% omitted institutional changes. Leading frameworks were Resilience, Driver-Pressure-State-Impact-Response, central research themes were forest/farmland management, biodiversity conservation. Governance arrangements were infrequently discussed, most commonly co-management; innovationswere rarely documented. Reflexivity was limited, as60% of studies did not examine challenges, 66% overlooked success factors, 59% did not report limitations. The field exhibits epistemic inequalities, methodological fragmentation, an implementation gap. Prioritizing ecological indicatorsmay marginalize social justice, institutional aspects. Potential pathways forward include international cooperation, actual interdisciplinary integration, cross-scale thematic linkages, actionable innovations/polycentric governance arrangements, incorporating reflexivity to support LAs as tools for equitable, sustainable land system transformation.

Indoor green walls are increasingly adopted as a nature-based solution to alleviate stress in urban office environments, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. To inform evidence-based design, this study explored these mechanisms by systematically investigating how the quantity, qualityof green walls differentially influence physiological responses, affective states, perceived restorativeness. In a controlled experimental design, 60participants were exposed to simulated office environments incorporating green walls with systematically varied GVI levels, greening form. Physiological responses were measured via systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, pulse. Affective states were assessed using the Brief Profile of Mood States, restorative effects were measured with the Perceived Restorativeness Scale. The data were analyzed using regression, mediation models. The findings revealed a novel dual-pathway model. GVI primarily influenced well-being through a cognitive-restorative pathway; a higher GVI significantly increased perceived restorativeness, which in turn alleviated negative affect, promoted positive affect. In contrast, greening form operated via a more direct affective-aesthetic pathway, influencing mood independently of being mediated by PRS. Advancing the discourse from the general question of whether green walls work to the specific mechanisms by which their visual attributes influence well-being, this study provide an evidence base needed to prescribe targeted design interventions for creating healthier, more restorative urban workspaces.

Amid worsening global ecological issues, China’s ecosystems are significantly degrading, with water conservation functions (WCFs) declining, threatening ecological security. Enhancing forest-grassland ecological space governance and WCFs is crucial for ecological civilization. Ecological spatial networks reflect connectivity, and analyzing the relationship between their structure and WCFs reveals intrinsic links. Changes in the topological structure affect the regional water cycle, thereby influencing WCFs. This study constructed forest-grassland ecological spatial networks (FGESNs) using remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) and analyzed their topology. WCFs calculated via the water balance equation shows a positive correlation with six topological indicators: degree, weight, unit weight, coreness, PageRank, and betweenness. Key WCF areas are located in the Northeast Forest Belt, Tibetan Plateau, Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, and southern hills. Ecological corridors in the Northeast Forest Belt and southern hills have high energy transmission efficiency. From 2000 to 2020, 6290 stable ecological source sites were identified, consistent with China’s “Three Regions and Four Belts” strategy. This study analyzes the correlation characteristics of water conservation services and spatial structure in forest and grass ecological space at national scale, improves water conservation services by improving the network structure of ecological space, and has important theoretical significance for promoting the optimization and adjustment of “structure-function” of forest and grass ecological space and promoting sustainable development.

In the context of Chilean Metropolises such as Santiago, Valparaíso, and Concepción, ecological and social fragmentation of cities lead to significant environmental disturbances, including alterations to the urban climate, loss of biodiversity, and the gradual suppression of ecological corridors and native habitats, ultimately heightening current and future risks, and degrading the quality of life for urban residents stemming from excessive urbanisation, ineffective planning, maladaptive design, and environmental management in critical natural areas. Although an abundance of general frameworks and principles already exist, they necessitate a more contextual and integral approach that considers the natural dynamics of the landscape (landscape logic) as a base for social and economic development. This research presented a landscape approach taking the city of Valparaíso, Chile, as a case study. A methodological framework utilising mixed methods, was developed to analyse and diagnose potentialities of the landscape for developing practical knowledge for planning and design, conscious of the community demands and capacities, its ecological system and its complex geomorphology, and the future applications and assessment in biodiversity terms and social impact. A design-related research opens the opportunity as a methodology that will make it possible to incorporate different types of expertise and work on various scales. This research provides a means for developing spatial guidelines and design principles to strengthen Valparaíso’s green/blue infrastructure at multiple scales. It will ensure water security, biodiversity conservation, safer and more inclusive spaces, and better integration of informal settlements while enhancing ecosystem services for the community. Additionally, by incorporating the natural dynamics of the landscape, this approach provides ways to reduce risk, promote adaptation, and build resilience.

Urban landscapes greatly influence the morale and vitality of residents. This study identified key indicators for planning and designing lively urban landscapes (LUL). In the first phase, semi-structured interviews with 31 experts were conducted to extract indicators and sub-indicators. The second phase evaluated their importance using an actor-target (expert-indicator) matrix. The interview data were analyzed using MACTOR and ATLAS.ti software. The results highlighted crucial elements for creating livable cities, such as beauty and health, incorporating color diversity, balance, simplicity, rhythm, preservation of natural landscapes, and integrating water features. Education and safety were also identified as vital components, focusing on safety within urban furniture and surveillance systems. Human-centered planning that considers the needs and preferences of citizens emerged as critical for developing lively urban areas. These findings offer practical guidance for urban planners and designers aiming to enhance vitality and improve urban environments.