Impact of artificial intelligence-driven urban renewal strategies green economic efficiency and resident health in China

TL;DR

This study shows that AI-driven smart city policies in China improve green economic efficiency and public health, especially when aligned with industrial and innovation strategies.

Contribution

The study introduces a novel integration of DID and SDM to analyze AI-driven urban policies and their spillover effects on sustainability and health.

Findings

AI-driven smart city strategies significantly enhance green economic efficiency (coefficient = 0.098, p < 0.01).

Public health outcomes improve with AI-driven policies (coefficient = 0.085, p < 0.01).

Positive effects are stronger in regions with rationalized industrial structures and lower innovation capacity.

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of AI-driven smart city policies on green economic efficiency and public health. It further explores how industrial structure rationalization, upgrading, and technological innovation capacity moderate these effects, aiming to provide actionable insights for sustainable urban governance.

To account for potential policy spillover effects, the study adopts a Difference-in-Differences (DID) approach integrated with a Spatial Durbin Model (SDM). The analysis incorporates AI-enabled smart city renewal strategies into the empirical framework, focusing on their influence on green economic efficiency and public health across varying levels of industrial structure and innovation capacity. Data were sourced from the World Health Organization Global Health Observatory.

Empirical findings demonstrate that AI-driven smart city strategies significantly enhance green economic efficiency (coefficient = 0.098, p < 0.01) and public health outcomes (coefficient = 0.085, p < 0.01). The positive effects are amplified by rationalized and upgraded industrial structures. Notably, the gains in green economic efficiency are more substantial in regions with lower technological innovation capacity, while regions with higher innovation capacity benefit more in terms of improved public health.

The results underscore the strategic importance of aligning AI applications with industrial and innovation policy to foster sustainable urban development. Policymakers are encouraged to leverage AI in optimizing industrial structures, promoting green growth, and integrating health policy with technological innovation to improve urban residents’ quality of life.

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