Reading is one of the popular activities among elderly persons. A reasonable level of daylight illumination can ensure the visual comfort of reading for elderly persons. State arousal level and subjective comfort report are important parameters reflecting the effect of daylight illumination on visual comfort of reading in elderly persons. In this study, daylight illumination measurements were conducted in a nursing institution of Shenyang, China. Moreover, the methods of electrodermal activity (EDA) physiological index measurement and questionnaire scoring were used to compare and analyze the state arousal level and visual comfort of elderly persons under different illumination conditions. The results show that when elderly persons were involved in their daily reading activity, the acceptable daylight illumination range was between 300 and 1000 lx. When the daylight illumination was between 600 and 800 lx, the state arousal level and visual comfort was high; when it was 700 lx, the state arousal level and visual comfort was the highest. Although 500 and 900 lx both indicated neutral illumination, the evaluations were more consistent at 500 lx than at 900 lx. At 300, 400, and 1000 lx, visual comfort was poor and the state arousal level was low. At 300 lx, visual comfort was the worst and the state arousal level was the lowest. This study provides a reliable reference for architects to design the daylight conditions of the living spaces of the elderly.

Serving as the direct interface for interaction between the waterfront and urban dwellers, the street space environment significantly influences people’s living experiences and social interactions. Despite progress in the renovation and development of waterfront streets, these areas remain underutilized and lack the vitality expected of such locations. Using the Hunhe Waterfront Streets in Shenyang as a case study, this research employed Baidu heatmap data and the Semantic Differential method to assess both the behavioral and perceived vitality of the area. Subsequently, the study explored the main factors influencing behavioral vitality in waterfront streets from three aspects: street accessibility, facility configuration and environmental construction. It also examined the key environmental features of waterfront streets that affect perceived vitality under visual perception. Additionally, the study performed a coupling analysis to explore the relationship between behavioral and perceived vitality within the waterfront streets. The results indicated that the density of infrastructure and commercial facilities, as well as the continuity of pedestrian paths, were key environmental features influencing behavioral vitality. The degree of motorization, green visual index and building enclosure ratio were the main environmental features affecting perceived vitality. Moreover, the vitality coordination of the Hunhe Waterfront Streets was relatively poor, leaving considerable room for improvement. By integrating behavior and their perceptions of the environment, the study explored the coordination of waterfront street vitality and its intrinsic connection with street environmental features. This work aids in developing more effective and user-centric design strategies for waterfront streets, offering practical guidance for their revitalization and redevelopment.

Urban green infrastructure’s health impacts on aging populations remain understudied, particularly regarding gender-specific responses in cold-climate cities facing sustainability challenges. This study investigated how sustainable urban design supports healthy aging through a novel “static–dynamic” dual-temporal analysis framework. Through controlled field experiments with 345 elderly participants across three urban space types in Shenyang, China, we examined physiological indicators and psychological responses under winter conditions (4–8 °C), employing comprehensive environmental monitoring and health assessment protocols. Path analysis revealed that sustainable urban design influences health outcomes through both direct physiological pathways and indirect psychological mediation, with psychological states accounting for 56.3% of the total effect. Gender-specific analysis demonstrated that females exhibit higher environmental sensitivity (blood pressure variation coefficient: 0.171 vs. 0.079 for males) and stronger psychological mediation effects (β = −0.302 vs. β = −0.185 for males). The findings establish a theoretical foundation for implementing gender-responsive sustainable urban design strategies in cold-climate communities, demonstrating how green infrastructure can simultaneously address environmental sustainability and social equity goals while promoting healthy aging outcomes.

Living streets are places of high activity frequency in people’s daily lives, so it is particularly important to design the street space based on people’s perceived comfort. There is a paucity of quantitative studies conducted on street interface elements, as evidenced by an examination of existing studies. Accordingly, this study used a human factor experiment to ascertain the quantitative value of interface elements that engender a sense of visual comfort. This study used a simulation experiment of a life street scene, integrating wearable physiological sensors and a subjective evaluation scale, to analyze the impact of varying scene element values on participants’ perception. The findings indicate that distinct values of street interface elements exert markedly disparate effects on people’s perception. The interface transparency that elicits a more favorable response is approximately 40%, the store density is approximately 15, and individuals demonstrate a discernible inclination towards the street scene with warm colors and rich textures.

Primary school students, as the main users of classrooms, are directly affected by the lighting environment, which not only affects their visual comfort but also their cognitive performance. This study investigated the effects of different correlated colour temperature (CCT) levels in classroom lighting on the cognitive performance of primary school students based on a multidimensional evaluation combining physiological signals (EEG and EDA) and subjective assessment. In this study, 53 subjects aged 10–13 years old from a primary school in Anshan City were used in a controlled experiment under five CCT conditions (3000 K, 4000 K, 5000 K, 6000 K, and 7000 K) at a constant illumination level of 500 lx. EEG and skin conductance (SC) signals were collected and subjective perceptions of visual comfort and fatigue were assessed while cognitive tasks were carried out. The results showed that students performed best cognitively at a colour temperature of 4000 K, with the lowest EEG absolute power (AP) (p < 0.01) and highest comfort (p < 0.05). Females were more sensitive to colour temperature changes and showed better cognitive performance in cooler colour temperature conditions, while male students performed better in warmer light conditions (p < 0.01). The above findings suggest that optimising the CCT of classroom lighting enhances students’ cognitive functioning and comfort, providing empirical support for lighting design guidelines in educational environments.