Can green infrastructure investment influence low-carbon urbanization: Empirical evidence from China

Can green infrastructure investment influence low-carbon urbanization: Empirical evidence from China | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Can green infrastructure investment influence low-carbon urbanization: Empirical evidence from China Yang Feihu, Huang Xing, Li Yating This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-3834215/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Promoting new urbanization based on the concept of green development is an essential path and inherent requirement for China's modernization, and the impact of green infrastructure investment on low-carbon urbanization development urgently needs to be explored. This article, based on panel data from 203 prefecture-level cities and above in China from 2010 to 2020, employs a two-way fixed effects model to investigate the impact of green infrastructure investment on enhancing low-carbon urbanization development and its potential channels. The study finds that: (1) Investment in green infrastructure significantly promotes the development of low-carbon urbanization, a result that remains robust after a series of tests. (2) The impact of green infrastructure investment on low-carbon urbanization development varies across cities with different geographical locations, sizes, and resource endowments. The role of green infrastructure investment is more pronounced in promoting low-carbon urbanization in eastern cities, medium-sized cities, and non-resource-based cities, while its impact is relatively weaker in central and western cities, large and small cities, and resource-based cities. (3) Mechanism analysis indicates that green infrastructure investment promotes low-carbon urbanization development by enhancing total factor energy efficiency and facilitating industrial structure upgrading. Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-3834215","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":266292297,"identity":"e0c95bbd-e341-4347-a28a-0be97612db46","order_by":0,"name":"Yang Feihu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yang","middleName":"","lastName":"Feihu","suffix":""},{"id":266292298,"identity":"b32bb5a3-376f-4b79-a45f-2cea48f74f53","order_by":1,"name":"Huang Xing","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA3UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACNvnzHx98MLCR42dmPvggoaKGsBY+CQZjwxkVacaS7W3JBg/OHCOsRU6CwUya58zhRIMzZ9QkH7YwE+Ew6YY0yZltaQkGN3LYKhIb2Bj427sT8GuROXDY4mObTZ7kjdxjNxJ3yDBInDm7Ab8WhsTGm0Bbivlu5KXdSDzDxmAgkUtISzKDNG/b4cSGGzlmBYltzERokUhjAnt/wpkzZgzEaeE5wwwPZImEM8d4CPpFvr2HER6VH39U1Mjxt/fi14IBeEhTPgpGwSgYBaMAKwAAji9OopZZT18AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Huang","middleName":"","lastName":"Xing","suffix":""},{"id":266292299,"identity":"cd74b1b3-b866-47d0-8cca-7a02368fbdbf","order_by":2,"name":"Li Yating","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Li","middleName":"","lastName":"Yating","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-01-04 09:48:37","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3834215/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3834215/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":49512483,"identity":"c5a97f6c-c930-4b43-9957-308a2ab16252","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-01-12 06:37:56","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":57050,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eTotal green infrastructure investment and low-carbon urbanization development level. Author´s design based on data from the Chinese government public information; Word Bank, 2022.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Fig1.Totalgreeninfrastructureinvestmentandlowcarbonurbanizationdevelopmentlevel..png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3834215/v1/b09850fc36855561f2e66376.png"},{"id":49512482,"identity":"0ab1ef82-d2b2-4551-99d4-ed77c3b782e1","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-01-12 06:37:56","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":27330,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eLogic diagram of the role of green infrastructure investment in low-carbon urbanization.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Fig2Logicdiagramoftheroleofgreeninfrastructureinvestmentinlowcarbonurbanization..png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3834215/v1/1c1950d65df6b397f896a151.png"},{"id":52128716,"identity":"5a5c6637-48af-405f-87ba-0d77bf85567a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-03-07 07:23:52","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":535352,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscrip.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-3834215/v1_covered_9ab86fe0-3557-404b-96e2-534e5f3c25d6.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Can green infrastructure investment influence low-carbon urbanization: Empirical evidence from China","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3834215/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3834215/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003ePromoting new urbanization based on the concept of green development is an essential path and inherent requirement for China's modernization, and the impact of green infrastructure investment on low-carbon urbanization development urgently needs to be explored. This article, based on panel data from 203 prefecture-level cities and above in China from 2010 to 2020, employs a two-way fixed effects model to investigate the impact of green infrastructure investment on enhancing low-carbon urbanization development and its potential channels. The study finds that: (1) Investment in green infrastructure significantly promotes the development of low-carbon urbanization, a result that remains robust after a series of tests. (2) The impact of green infrastructure investment on low-carbon urbanization development varies across cities with different geographical locations, sizes, and resource endowments. The role of green infrastructure investment is more pronounced in promoting low-carbon urbanization in eastern cities, medium-sized cities, and non-resource-based cities, while its impact is relatively weaker in central and western cities, large and small cities, and resource-based cities. (3) Mechanism analysis indicates that green infrastructure investment promotes low-carbon urbanization development by enhancing total factor energy efficiency and facilitating industrial structure upgrading.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Can green infrastructure investment influence low-carbon urbanization: Empirical evidence from China","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-01-12 06:37:51","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-3834215/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"30116755-2a22-4c5e-85f7-04fb0ada038a","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 12th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-03-07T07:15:25+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2024-01-12 06:37:51","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-3834215","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-3834215","identity":"rs-3834215","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"_2-kVJe1T_tPrBINL-cwx","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}