Estrategias de diseño de áreas verdes para mejorar el bienestar estudiantil en los Campus Universitarios Central y Centro Histórico de la Universidad de Cuenca

Abstract

The organization and appearance of green spaces in universities go far beyond aesthetics: they have a direct impact on students' emotional wellbeing and academic performance. This research focuses on the University of Cuenca and its main objective is to explore how students value and use their landscaped areas. To achieve this, opinions gathered from the central campus were compared with those of students who spend their daily lives in the extension buildings—specifically, the Faculty of Philosophy, which showed better design, and the Historic Center campus, represented by the Faculty of Hospitality, which faced various challenges. The methodology used included structured surveys to collect information on student perceptions of these spaces. Based on the data obtained, the study aimed to identify students' needs and preferences regarding the use of green areas, as well as to establish architectural design strategies to optimize these spaces on the mentioned campuses. The goal was to propose viable strategies based on the findings. This study not only sought to strengthen the existing proposal for the campus in question but also to generate replicable guidelines for similar contexts, promoting a more efficient and satisfying use of university green spaces.