Abstract:In order to quantify the influence of the distance-height ratio of rural hutong space on human emotional comfort, based on the actual situation of rural areas in southern Hebei Province, three kinds of hutong spaces with different distance-height ratios were designed. Thirty-two subjects were invited to participate in a 2D virtual experience, during which their emotional changes were recorded. Both subjective emotional scale data and physiological data were collected to jointly assess spatial perception abi-lity and emotional comfort levels. The results from the subjective emotion scale showed that when D/H<1, subjects perceived the space as narrower, showing lower emotional comfort (3.16±0.22). When 1<D/H<3, the perceived spaciousness increased with higher emotional comfort (5.06±0.17). When D/H approached 1, emotional comfort was intermediate (4.13±0.09), indicating optimal perceived proportionality. Physiological measurements correlated with the subjective scale results, revealing sympathetic/parasympathetic nervous system responses underlying the observed emotional comfort variations. This study demonstrates that optimally proportioned hutong spaces significantly enhance emotional comfort, modulate autonomic nervous system responses, and promote physical-mental wellbeing. These findings provide empirical evidence for proportion-oriented design of rural street spaces.