Students studying for a long time frequently suffer from attentional fatigue; however, campuses lack specific spaces in which to restore attention. This study aimed to explore the significant perceptual factors related to student selection of landscape types that they perceive as most relaxing on a university campus. To understand the design factors of an attention restoration space, this study examined the preference of students regarding restorative environments on university campuses at six universities in northeastern China using a questionnaire survey (n = 360). Place-mapping revealed the spatial characteristics of the preferences of students for relaxing in the available space. The primary perceptual factors were obtained using correlation analysis and keyword frequency. A relationship model of landscape types and perceptual factors was established using categorical regression (CATREG). Results showed that waterfront spaces have the optimal perceived attention restoration effect, followed by vegetation spaces, courtyard spaces and square spaces. Visibility, accessibility, comfort, recognition and sense of belonging are significant perceptual factors that should be first considered. Moreover, the optimal selection of design factors depends on the interaction of landscape types and perceptual factors. The design implications may assist designers to gain a new perspective on student requirements for a healthy environment.

In recent years, the installation of photovoltaic systems in China has increased steadily to gradually become large-scale, having a significant impact on the urban landscape. Research on this impact mostly focuses on visual impact and glare risk. However, differences in urban land use types may lead to differences in the impact of photovoltaic applications on the landscape. This study adapts visual Q methodology to assess the impact of photovoltaic applications on the landscape in urban areas. Landscape photographs of photovoltaic applications in different cities of China are collected and used during the concourse and Q sorting. The final Q sample is composed of 36 photographs of different photovoltaic materials at different levels of integration in six urban land use types. The P set is composed of 36 respondents, including experts and non-experts. In conclusion, environmental harmony, power generation, innovative design, installation height, and social benefits of photovoltaic systems are the main impacts of photovoltaic systems on urban landscapes. Photovoltaic systems in different urban land use types have different impacts on the landscape. The conclusions have policy implications for different urban land use types, which has significance for the construction of urban photovoltaic systems in the future.

Reasonable building height distribution in urban residential areas is conducive to smoother vertical airflow exchange and promotes sustainable development. This paper studies the influence of building layouts on vertical ventilation in high-rise residential areas in Harbin, China, and discusses typical building layout objectives. The ideal area of 220 × 220 m was determined using statistical analysis and specification requirements, and seven typical layouts were defined based on the distribution of building heights. The computation fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was verified using wind tunnel testing to improve the accuracy of the Phoenics simulation software. Wind speed, wind pressure, and the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) in residential areas distributed at different heights were analyzed and evaluated. The results indicated that the Phoenics simulation parameter settings, verified via wind tunnel testing, could achieve reasonable simulation results and different height distribution modes had an impact on the changes in wind speed and wind pressure. The equal-height layout that conformed to the row spacing of the buildings and the layout of taller buildings on the east side could provide higher comfort, and did not require enclosed and downwind layouts. This research can inform the green and livable design of residential buildings and provide a new perspective for the construction of high-rise residential areas in cold cities.

The degree of land use reflects the progress of social and economic development; however, it also has a direct impact on land resources. Maximizing the ecosystem services of land resources in a limited space is a key issue in China’s rapid urbanization. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the spatial relationship between land use patterns and ecosystem services to enhance the benefits of urban ecology. First, we used the landscape pattern index to represent land use patterns and the equivalence factor method to quantify the ecosystem services value (ESV); second, spatial autocorrelation and spatial autoregression were used to explore the spatial relationship between the landscape pattern index and ESV. Our main conclusions were that (1) the landscape pattern index and ESV both showed obvious spatial aggregation, but that of ESV was more significant; (2) the largest patch index and contagion index had a greater degree of influence on ESV than other variables, with the largest patch index having a positive effect and the contagion index having a negative effect; (3) it was necessary to cultivate the landscape dominance of land patches in ecological spatial regulation and to form large-scale ecological agglomeration in key ecological source areas and nodes. The research results can ensure that land resources exert a higher level of ecological value by adjusting the spatial form of the landscape patch.

Rapid urbanization and agricultural development has resulted in the degradation of ecosystems, while also negatively impacting ecosystem services (ES) and urban sustainability. Identifying conservation priorities for ES and applying reasonable management strategies have been found to be effective methods for mitigating this phenomenon. The purpose of this study is to propose a comprehensive framework for identifying ES conservation priorities and associated management strategies for these planning areas. First, we incorporated 10 ES indicators within a systematic conservation planning (SCP) methodology in order to identify ES conservation priorities with high irreplaceability values based on conservation target goals associated with the potential distribution of ES indicators. Next, we assessed the efficiency of the ES conservation priorities for meeting the designated conservation target goals. Finally, ES conservation priorities were clustered into groups using a K-means clustering analysis in an effort to identify the dominant ES per location before formulating management strategies. We effectively identified 12 ES priorities to best represent conservation target goals for the ES indicators. These 12 priorities had a total areal coverage of 13,364 km² representing 25.16% of the study area. The 12 priorities were further clustered into five significantly different groups (p-values between groups < 0.05), which helped to refine management strategies formulated to best enhance ES across the study area. The proposed method allows conservation and management plans to easily adapt to a wide variety of quantitative ES target goals within urban and agricultural areas, thereby preventing urban and agriculture sprawl and guiding sustainable urban development.