The Impact of Low-Carbon City (LCC) on Elderly People’s Health: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in China

Abstract

Rapid urbanization has increased haze pollution, affecting the health of elderly people. This study uses low-carbon city (LCC) data and examines the effects of LCCs on improving the health of elderly residents. Our main purpose is to explore the following question: Can the new urbanization model presented by the LCC alleviate haze pollution and enhance the health of middle-aged and elderly people? This study uses data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) and the 2012 LCC pilot to explore whether the LCC can alleviate haze pollution and improve elderly people’s health. The study found that the building of LCCs can reduce blood pressure, improve vital capacity, decrease obesity, and improve memory levels, including short-term and long-term memory. The building of LCCs also reduces the probability of being exposed to haze pollution by increasing the city’s green total factor productivity and the use of green technologies. The study concludes that elderly people received health dividends as a result of the enhancement of living conditions, transportation, and medical support in the LCCs.

Sponge city construction and population health

“…Public policy, especially policy in urban area be proved to have the direct driving force in shaping the urban environment, and thus affect population health ( 29–32 , 55 , 56 ). On the basis of existing research, this study attempts to consider the dual changes of sponge city pilot policy on the ecological environment and the built environment and their impact on population health.…”

“…Overall, from the perspective of public policy, a significant question in the current urban development process is what kind of urban environment is most conducive to population health. Recently, Scholars in public policy and administration have conducted explorations into the health effects of various urban policies such as low-carbon city ( 29 ), smart city ( 30 ), healthy city ( 31 , 32 ), even sanitary city ( 33 ). While most of the aforementioned literature focuses only on the individual level, overlooking the urban environmental changes caused by policies.…”

City Health Examination and Evaluation of Territory Spatial Planning for SDG11 in China: A Case Study of Xining City in Qinghai Province

“…The complex impact of the pandemic and how this extreme event has influenced urban sustainability remains to be understood [ 21 ]. Internationally, metropolitan cities such as London, Tokyo and Sydney have already entered the stage of construction, maintenance and planning review [ 22 , 23 ]. They have established relatively complete information systems, as well as planning, implementation and evaluation mechanisms, accumulating rich practical experience in planning and evaluation.…”