Differences in Restorative Quality of Community, Street, and Park Environments and Their Effects on Stress Reduction Among Adolescents

Adolescent mental health problems have become increasingly prominent, and everyday urban spaces may provide important support for stress relief. Focusing on adolescents aged 12–18 in Xi’an, China, this study examines three frequently used urban spaces: streets, residential communities, and parks. Based on questionnaire data, a multi-group structural equation model was estimated to test the relationships among built environment satisfaction (BES), perceived restorativeness (PR), and restorative outcomes (ROs), as well as their spatial differences. The results show that parks performed best in PR and ROs, followed by residential communities, whereas streets showed the weakest restorative performance. Across all three space types, BES significantly improved PR, and PR further promoted ROs. Parks showed both a significant direct effect and a significant indirect effect through PR, whereas communities and streets mainly relied on the mediating pathway through PR. Taken together, these findings suggest that restorative experiences cannot be explained by space-use intensity alone and are also associated with BES, PR, and space type. The study provides empirical evidence for optimizing everyday urban spaces to support adolescent mental health and socially sustainable urban development.