Developed by Professor Chun-Yen Chang’s research team, the HEALS Design System—integrating health, ecology, AI, landscape, and social justice (Fig. 8)—is an 18-step, AI-assisted framework for creating health-oriented landscapes (Fig. 9). Each component of HEALS reflects a core design goal: 1) Health — supporting mental and physical well-being through physiological and psychological monitoring via the HealthCloud platform; 2) Ecology — promoting biodiversity and climate resilience by using GIS-based environmental data; 3) AI — enhancing aesthetic analysis and planning efficiency through tools like Google Vision AI and Place365; 4) Landscape — creating spaces that are both functional and visually restorative; and 5) Social Justice — ensuring inclusive and participatory processes that reflect diverse community needs.
Structured under six thematic phases—i.e., site information, aesthetics and experience, experts and stakeholders, design ideas, plan assessment and negotiation, and final decisions (Fig. 8)—HEALS integrates GIS mapping, multi-layer environmental data, AI visual analysis, and physiological feedback via HealthCloud.
Key steps include defining the project scope, overlaying data layers (e.g., data related to geology and hydrology), conducting aesthetic and experience-based analyses using tools like Google Vision AI and Place365, and integrating biometric and psychological data obtained from wearable devices. Professional and public inputs are gathered through questionnaires and stakeholder engagement, ensuring participatory, evidence-based planning. The design process then moves through clear goal setting, zoning, circulation layout, scenario generation, and iterative consensus building. Final outputs include comprehensive spatial plans and detailed reports.
HEALS is actively used at NTU in teaching and for community outreach, and its experience is enhanced through immersive simulations in the university’s panoramic theater lab. Its long-term data system supports continuous user response tracking. Currently undergoing patent integration, HEALS is shaping the future of smart, inclusive, and restorative landscape design.
Figure 8. Schematic illustration of the six thematic phases of the HEALS Design System
Figure 9. Diagram of the 18-step framework constituting the HEALS Design System
Figure 10. Healthy Landscape Intelligence Lab