The Impact of New-Type Urbanization on the Living Environment: Evidence from a Quasinatural Experiment in China

The quality of the living environment is a critical determinant of residents’ health and urban sustainability. To mitigate the environmental pollution induced by the traditional urbanization model, China launched the New-Type Urbanization Pilot Policy (NTUPP) as a nationwide experimental reform. Yet whether the NTUPP has improved the living environment remains underexplored. Drawing on a balanced panel dataset of 273 prefectures in China from 2011 to 2023, this study applies a staggered difference-in-differences approach to examine the NTUPP’s impact. We find that the NTUPP significantly improves the quality of the living environment, while its spatial spillovers to neighboring prefectures remain limited. Mechanistic analysis suggests that these gains are driven by stronger environmental regulation and increased investment in environmental governance. The policy’s effects are more pronounced in northwestern prefectures, prefectures in the servitization stage and the middle stage of urbanization, and small or medium-sized prefectures.