Rural landscapes are acknowledged for their potential to restore human health due to natural characteristics. However, modern rural development has degraded these environments, thereby diminishing the restorative potential of rural landscapes. Few studies have systematically analyzed the impact of naturalness, landscape types, and landscape elements on restorativeness using both subjective and objective measurements. This study investigated the restorative effects of various rural landscapes in Guangzhou, employing electroencephalography and eye-tracking technologies to record physiological responses and using the Restorative Components Scale and the Perceived Restorativeness and Naturalness Scale to evaluate psychological responses. The results indicated the following: (1) There was a significant positive correlation between perceived naturalness and restorativeness, surpassing the impact of actual naturalness. (2) Different landscape types had varying impacts on restorativeness at the same level of perceived naturalness. Natural forest landscapes, artificial forest landscapes, and settlement landscapes exhibited the most substantial restorative effects among the natural, semi-natural, and artificial landscapes examined, respectively. (3) Restorative properties varied across landscape elements: trees and water significantly enhanced restorativeness, whereas constructed elements reduced it. Findings from this study can provide support for policymakers to make informed decisions regarding the selection and arrangement of rural landscape types and elements to enhance mental health and well-being.

China stands out as one of the countries with the largest and fastest-growing elderly populations. Elderly requirements for the quality of high-speed railway stations environment are increasing. The relationship between the built environment of high-speed railway stations and elderly health has become an urgent problem to be solved. The challenge necessitates a systematic approach to age-friendly design. Based on the practical experience of the authors in an age-friendly design of an indoor environment at Nanjing South Railway Station, questionnaire surveys and user interviews were employed to profile four types of typical elderly passengers. Data collection methods were used to create behavior maps. (1) This study identifies the age-friendly needs of elderly passengers, pinpointing the key environment issues. (2) It proposes age-friendly design strategies for various functional areas of Nanjing South Railway Station. (3) It introduces an age-friendly module combination design system, which including basic type I, enhanced type II, and optimized type III, in order to meet the demands for six levels of high-speed railway stations in China. This study promotes the age-friendly transformation of environments at a high-speed railway station, offering theoretical foundations and methodological references for constructing an age-friendly environment from a healthy ageing perspective.

Rural built environments foster a connection with nature and offer significant restorative benefits. Thus, understanding the healing potential of various landscape types is crucial for optimizing rural built environments. However, existing research has insufficiently addressed rural built environments, rarely considering their impact on public mental health. To fill this knowledge gap, we conducted a photography-based experimental study, utilizing an electroencephalogram (EEG) and the Restorative Components Scale (RCS) to report the effects of three types of rural built environments on individual physiological and psychological activities. The results indicate that: (1) rural built environments exhibit significant psychological health restoration benefits; (2) different types of rural built environments elicit varying physiological responses and psychological states; (3) settlement landscapes provide the highest healing potential, followed by road landscapes, with engineered landscapes showing relatively weaker restorative effects. These findings support the perspective in environmental psychology that natural and well-designed rural built environments can effectively enhance restoration. Furthermore, this study provides an empirical foundation for future urban and rural planning and design, highlighting the importance of rural built environments in improving residents' mental health and well-being.