Virtual Reality-Driven Optimization of Campus Green Spaces for Urban College Student Well-Being: A Case Study at a Large University in China

Abstract

University campus green spaces function as critical microcosms of urban building environments, directly advancing Sustainable Development Goals 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) through evidence-based landscape design. Taking a large university in China as the research object, this study integrates virtual reality (VR) simulations with synchronized psychophysiological measurements and perceptual scales to quantify how three planting modes—clustered, scattered, and regular—influence restorative experiences across teaching, living, and administrative areas. Rigorous data processing ensured robustness. The results revealed functional-area-specific restoration pathways: clustered planting enhanced relaxation in living zones, scattered planting elevated vitality in teaching areas, and regular planting reinforced security perception in administrative spaces. A path model was used to elucidate how four-dimensional (4D) landscape indicators (openness, pleasantness, diversity, focus) mediate psychological and physiological responses. Theoretically, this 4D framework translates abstract restorative experiences into operable design dimensions; methodologically, VR-based multi-source measurement offers a replicable technical pathway for scheme verification; practically, it serves as a quantitative tool for planting optimization. Critically, these campus-derived insights offer transferable design principles for enhancing well-being across urban building environments, delivering a replicable VR-assisted framework that directly contributes to sustainable cities through human-centered, evidence-based landscape solutions.