Friday, September 6, 2024
By: Jeff Azurin
Students’ mental health has become a prominent concern over the past two decades. Professor Yi Luo, Ph.D., of the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Florida has been conducting research that emphasizes the critical role campus environments play in students’ well-being. With a background in landscape architecture, sustainability, and urban and environmental planning, Luo’s work highlights the importance of designing for mental health on college campuses.
Luo’s recent research focuses on evaluating how various campus landscape features affect student mental health. The study, conducted with her graduate students, Rui Hu and Cenqi Zhu, involved assessing how different landscape elements influence emotional and psychological well-being. Using a combination of stimulated models and a detailed questionnaire, the study aimed to identify which design components have the most significant therapeutic effects.
“I’ve always been interested in the therapeutic effects of landscapes,” Luo explained. “Over the past few years, I’ve noticed an increasing need to address mental health issues among students. By incorporating therapeutic landscapes into our campus design, we can create environments that better support student mental health.”
The research involved gathering feedback from diverse students across colleges at UF, revealing valuable insights into how various landscape components contribute to mental health.
“The goal of this study is to raise awareness about how campus landscapes can be designed to support mental health,” Luo said. “We want to encourage more thoughtful design that considers students’ emotional and psychological needs.”
Luo’s work aligns with her broader research interests, which include sustainability, landscape performance evaluation, and the integration of low-impact development practices. Her efforts are supported by funding from various organizations, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Landscape Architecture Foundation.
Beyond her research, Luo is deeply involved in teaching and mentoring at UF. She leads courses in site planning and design, landscape construction, advanced landscape architecture studios, and research methods. Her teaching reflects her commitment to integrating research with practical application, preparing students to tackle real-world challenges in landscape architecture.
Looking ahead, Luo hopes her research will foster interdisciplinary collaborations between landscape architects and mental health professionals and potentially influence campus design practices globally. She envisions a future that includes continued research to explore links between culture and design preferences. Such steps, she believes, would push us to better design for specific user groups.
As UF continues to prioritize student mental health, Luo’s innovative research serves as a compelling example of how thoughtful design can make a tangible difference. Her dedication to combining sustainability with mental health support is paving the way for more effective and empathetic campus environments.
