Reshaping Urban Resilience: Can Climate-Resilient City Pilot Mitigate Urban Climate Risks? Evidence from Chinese Cities

Reshaping Urban Resilience: Can Climate-Resilient City Pilot Mitigate Urban Climate Risks? Evidence from Chinese Cities | 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 Research Article Reshaping Urban Resilience: Can Climate-Resilient City Pilot Mitigate Urban Climate Risks? Evidence from Chinese Cities Zhaopu Liu, Yushan Zhang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9138280/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 Against the backdrop of intensifying global climate change, enhancing urban resilience is vital for sustainable development. This study evaluates the impact of climate-resilient development on extreme climate risks by analyzing China's Climate-Resilient City Pilot (CRCP) program. Using a balanced panel dataset of 162 Chinese cities (2010–2023) and Double Machine Learning (DML), we find that systematic adaptation significantly reduces the City-level Physical Risk Index (CPRI). Mechanism analysis identifies three primary pathways: ecosystem regulation (improved air quality and ecological metrics), technology adoption (increased green and disaster-prevention patents), and infrastructure resilience (upgraded drainage and response systems). Heterogeneity analysis reveals that adaptation effectiveness is more pronounced in economically developed eastern regions, cities with diversified economies, and areas with higher climate awareness and fiscal capacity. These findings underscore the critical role of economic resources and governance in determining outcomes. This research contributes empirical evidence to urban adaptation literature, identifying context-specific pathways for success. China’s experience demonstrates how integrated strategies can simultaneously advance climate resilience and economic transformation, offering a scalable model for other developing economies and global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Urban adaptation policy Climate resilience Extreme climate risk Double machine learning 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. 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