Health Impacts of Climate- Resilient Urban Development: Evidence from China

Abstract

The increasing frequency of extreme weather events due to global warming has significantly impacted the health of people, necessitating adaptive policy measures to mitigate these adverse effects. Thus, this study systematically examines the impacts and mechanisms of Climate-Resilient City (CRC) pilot policies on the health of individuals by using a difference-in-differences methodology. The results indicate that CRC pilot policies significantly enhance the health status of this demographic. Mechanism analyses reveal that CRC pilot policies improve living conditions through a range of climate resilience strategies, including enhanced urban climate resilience planning, improved water cycle management, reduced air pollution, decreased energy consumption, and bolstered social capital. Further heterogeneity analyses demonstrate that CRC pilot policies significantly benefit residents in areas with a high incidence of extreme temperatures and frequent rainy days, while having a limited impact in regions prone to extreme precipitation. Additionally, our findings indicate that CRC pilot policies notably improve health outcomes for vulnerable groups. These findings underscore the critical role of climate-resilient city building in safeguarding the health of middle-aged and elderly individuals and, provide valuable insights for policymakers aiming to develop effective climate and environmental health policies to address regional health disparities.

Note:
Funding declaration: This study was supported by several significant funding sources: the National Natural Science Major Program of China (Grant No. 72091511), titled “Research on Certain Risk Prevention, Control, and Management of Resilient Cities”, the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 72273045), titled “Research on the Impact Mechanisms of Climate Change on the Resilience of Grains Production and its Enhancement Paths: A Research Based on the Main Producing Regions in Northern China” and, the Outstanding Youth Fund of the Guangdong Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. 2024B1515020042), under the project “Climate Change and Grains Production Resilience”.

Conflict of Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Keywords: Climate-Resilient Cities, Health of Vulnerable Groups, physical health, Mental Health