As urbanization accelerates, indoor air quality has emerged as a critical determinant of population health. To systematically evaluate the relationship between indoor air quality (IAQ) and human physiological responses, we conducted a comprehensive review of 63 experimental studies retrieved from three major databases (ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, Web of Science) spanning the years 2000–2023. This systematic review synthesizes evidence from experimental studies examining the physiological impacts of indoor air contaminants, including gaseous pollutants, particulate matter (PM), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Through an analysis of cardiovascular biomarkers (heart rate variability, blood pressure), respiratory parameters, and neurological indicators (electroencephalogram patterns), we identify the mechanisms linking air quality degradation to impaired physiological functioning. Our findings demonstrate that optimized ventilation systems and high-efficiency particulate filtration can mitigate exposure risks, potentially enhancing cardiovascular efficiency, pulmonary capacity, and cognitive performance. The evidence further suggests that sustained improvements for indoor environments may decrease incidence rates of respiratory pathologies and neurological disorders.

Thermal comfort in public buildings is crucial for occupant well-being and energy efficiency. This study employs TRNSYS software to simulate the effects of thermal mass, window performance, and window–wall ratio (WWR) on summer thermal comfort. The results indicate that without energy-saving measures, increased thermal mass raises daily average maximum and minimum temperatures by 0.33–0.96 °C and 0.14–0.94 °C, respectively. Enhanced WWRs lead to higher daily average maximum and minimum temperatures for double-glazed windows (0.18–0.61 °C and 0.07–0.62 °C, respectively), while single-glazed windows show increased maximum temperatures (0.18–1.86 °C) but decreased minimum temperatures (−0.01 to −0.72 °C). Thermal mass has a modest effect on indoor overheating during high outdoor temperatures. Double-glazed windows and lower WWRs effectively reduce indoor overheating, decreasing the attenuation coefficient by 2.13–28.94%. Conversely, single-glazed windows and higher WWRs enhance heat dissipation, increasing daily average temperature fluctuations by 2.33–44.18%. Notably, single-glazed windows with WWRs ≥ 50% improve thermal comfort by reducing extreme superheat temperature occurrence in heavy-thermal-mass buildings by 0.81 to 14.63%. Despite lower cooling loads with heavy thermal mass, double-glazed windows, and low WWRs, the study suggests that single-glazed windows and high WWRs can enhance summer thermal comfort. Therefore, reasonable shading measures and lighter thermal mass are recommended for such buildings.

Green infrastructure (GI) in street canyons can reduce particulate matter (PM) through leaf deposition, but it may also promote pollutant accumulation by modifying ventilation and recirculation. To clarify this deposition–ventilation trade-off, this study combined field measurements and ENVI-met simulations to evaluate the effects of GI configurations on PM dispersion in a typical street canyon in Qingdao, China. Field measurements were conducted on the windward and leeward sides during winter and summer, and a validated ENVI-met model was used to simulate PM10 dispersion under three wind directions, namely parallel, perpendicular, and oblique winds, and eight GI configurations. The effects of GI were evaluated using the Average Relative Difference in Concentration (ARDC), total deposition, and deposition efficiency per unit vegetation volume. Field measurements indicated relatively higher windward-side PM concentrations in summer, whereas winter showed a tendency toward PM10 accumulation on the leeward side from midday to evening. Simulations showed that parallel winds produced the lowest average PM10 concentrations within the canyon. Shrubs and green walls had near-neutral effects on canyon-wide mean concentrations but helped suppress local near-ground peaks. In contrast, street trees and multi-layer GI configurations tended to increase PM10 concentrations in the leeward zone, with the maximum leeward ARDC indicating an approximately 9% increase relative to the non-vegetated reference scenario. Street trees contributed the highest total deposition, while shrubs showed the highest deposition efficiency per unit volume. These findings suggest that street-canyon GI design should prioritize axial ventilation corridors, avoid continuous tall or dense vegetation on leeward sides, and consider shrub–green wall combinations in pedestrian zones.