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How Does Green-Infrastructure Investment Empower Urban Sustainable Development?—Mechanisms and Empirical Tests

Author

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  • Shang Chen

    (School of Economics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250300, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Ziyi Wang

    (School of Business, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250300, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Danica Du

    (School of Economics, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250300, China)

  • Qiang Kong

    (School of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan 250014, China)

Abstract

Amidst the intensifying impacts of global economic turbulence and external instabilities, the urgency to enhance urban sustainable development capabilities has become increasingly pronounced. Urban green-infrastructure investment, as a pivotal investment direction, plays a significant role in strengthening urban sustainable development capabilities. Based on panel data from 281 prefecture-level cities in China from 2010 to 2022, this study employs an empirical model to thoroughly investigate the impact of urban green-infrastructure investment on urban sustainable development and its underlying mechanisms. The research findings indicate the following: ① Urban green-infrastructure investment significantly promotes the enhancement of urban sustainable development levels, a conclusion that remains robust after undergoing robustness tests. ② The mechanism tests reveal that the enhancement of industrial chain resilience, ecological environment resilience, and talent agglomeration are crucial pathways through which urban green-infrastructure investment drives sustainable urban economic development. ③ Heterogeneity analysis finds that cities in the central and western regions, resource-based cities, cities with lower levels of urbanization, and cities with higher degrees of openness are more sensitive to the sustainable development-enhancing effects of green-infrastructure investment. ④ Spatial effect tests show that urban green-infrastructure investment has a positive spatial spillover effect on enhancing urban sustainable development levels. Based on these findings, it is recommended that cities increase investment in green infrastructure, optimize investment structures, promote the enhancement of industrial chain and ecological environment resilience, strengthen talent agglomeration effects, and leverage regional comparative advantages to invest in green infrastructure in a location-specific manner. This study not only validates the positive impact of urban green-infrastructure investment on urban sustainable development but also provides multi-perspective insights and references for analyzing the effects of urban green-infrastructure investment, offering policy support for achieving urban sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • Shang Chen & Ziyi Wang & Danica Du & Qiang Kong, 2025. "How Does Green-Infrastructure Investment Empower Urban Sustainable Development?—Mechanisms and Empirical Tests," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-44, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:13:p:5751-:d:1684999
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