The complexity of subway station space can impact the efficiency of passenger navigation. The subway spatial environment is a key factor affecting indoor wayfinding for pedestrians; however, the research framework that examines how various environment factors influence pedestrians during different stages of wayfinding remains ambiguous. This study examines how environmental elements may affect users to varying degrees at different stages of wayfinding, which in turn affects their wayfinding efficiency, recording and analyzing the wayfinding performance and eye-tracking data of 32 participants. The findings reveal that different environment factors exert varying degrees of influence on pedestrians at different stages of wayfinding. Significantly, signage (p = 0.000) proves to have the most substantial impact on wayfinding, followed by stairs/escalators (p < 0.05), but the participants walked to the wrong platform in the TD2 scenario because they were guided by the Line 2 signs in front of the stairs/escalators. Thus, the influence of signage is not entirely positive. This study contributes to an understanding of the differences in the influence of environmental elements on wayfinding during different wayfinding stages, and provides suggestions for the spatial environmental design of subway stations and the improvement of wayfinding efficiency.

Subway stations are complex spaces with high passenger density and mobility, making evacuation efficiency particularly important. The position of evacuation signage is a key factor affecting the efficiency of passenger wayfinding. This study constructed a virtual subway station scenario by virtual reality technology (VR), recording and analyzing the evacuation time and exit selection of 60 participants. The results showed that hanging evacuation signage, with their superior visual advantages, can greatly improve passenger wayfinding efficiency, followed by signage affixed to walls and columns, and finally signage on the ground. This study has provided a theoretical basis for the scientific layout and optimization of evacuation signage positions in subway stations, thereby enhancing passenger safety and evacuation efficiency.

Urban greenways in dense cities face land constraints and changing ecological and social demands. This study develops a process-oriented framework from social–ecological systems (SES) theory and examines it through an explanatory documentary case study of Fukuoka, Japan. Planning and project records and published studies dated 1974–2025 were assessed through theory-guided pattern matching across river corridors, the urban core, and coastal areas. The framework links adaptability, social–ecological coupling, and governance feedback to three proposed mechanisms: spatial resource reorganization, context-dependent value realization, and feedback-enabled adaptation. River-edge reuse, vertical greenery, and phased coastal opening document distinct forms of spatial renewal. Published ACROS studies provide bounded thermal evidence and a later fungal-community observation; comparable service outcomes across the three settings remain unavailable. Public and expert comments can be traced into planning text and indicator design. A supplementary park-design episode also links residents’ requests to a revised scheme for a playground opened in 2025, although individual as-built changes and subsequent benefits are unverified. The case qualifies the framework by distinguishing project change from network completion, service potential from observed outcomes, and design uptake from a completed adaptive cycle.