Promoting Health and Well-Being: Environment Design of Rehabilitation Centers for Autistic Children Under the Theory of Restorative Environment

At present, the design of autism rehabilitation centers in China generally fails to meet the rehabilitation needs of patients, making it difficult to achieve the health and well-being goals of sustainable development. In this context, restorative environment theory, with its potential to improve spatial environments and enhance well-being, has gradually become a key driving force in the environmental design process. Therefore, this literature review employs a combined approach of macro-level quantitative and micro-level qualitative research methods based on the Web of Science (WOS) database. First, 5953 relevant literature sources were analyzed to reveal the research background, current status, hot topics, and future development trends of the theory of restorative environment and rehabilitation centers for children with autism. Through keyword network visualization, seven primary clusters were identified: #0 environmental design, #1 burnout, #2 Autism specturn disorder, #3 Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, #4 caregiver, #5 domiciliary care, # 6 stroke. These clusters were further synthesized into four core design elements: lifecycle-spanning design, family collaboration and community engagement design, green sustainable environment design, and culturally inclusive and diverse physical and mental development design. Subsequently, a multi-level case analysis was conducted using 24 global autism-friendly design examples to validate the practical applicability of these core elements. Finally, based on the research findings, the discussion section proposes environmental design strategies for autism rehabilitation centers tailored to the Chinese context.These strategies aim to enhance the well-being of children with autism and contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG3).