Abstract
Preventive medicine emphasizes the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle as a fundamental approach to promoting health. In alignment with this, the World Health Organization has proposed the Health Promoting Universities (HPU) framework to guide the development of health-supportive campus environments.
The study conceptualizes university campus planning from an urban design perspective, proposing that a well-designed campus features higher street network connectivity, mixed land use, compact density, cohesive urban texture, and a high degree of greenness. Prior studies have suggested that the use of open space may serve as a key mechanism linking physical environments with health outcomes.
Using data collected through an online survey from students at 32 universities in Taiwan, this study examines the relationships among campus planning characteristics, open space usage, and student health outcomes through multiple regression analyses. The findings reveal a negative association between campus building coverage (building rate) and the use of open space.
Furthermore, the use of open space emerges as a significant predictor of health-promoting lifestyles among students.However, when predicting overall health status, planning factors did not show statistically significant associations. Importantly, the use of green space was found to mediate the relationship between campus planning features and students’ engagement in health-promoting behaviors.
These findings can inform university planning and policy-making, encouraging the design of campuses that support students' well-being through spatial strategies.
