How Does Urban Sprawl Affect Public Health? Evidence from Panel Survey Data in Urbanizing China

Yan Yan, Hui Liu and Canfei He
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Yan Yan: College of Urban Economics and Public Administration, Capital University of Economics and Business, Beijing 100070, China
Hui Liu: School of Government, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing 100081, China
Canfei He: College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 19, 1-14

Abstract: This study takes urbanizing China as the research object, employs data from three follow-up surveys conducted by the Harmonized China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, and examines the effects of urban sprawl on public health from physical and mental health perspectives. Although urban sprawl does not necessarily increase the risk of each specific type of disease or psychological feeling, it has a significant impact on overall physical and mental health. Further analysis reveals significant heterogeneity in the effects of urban sprawl on the physical and mental health of different groups. Specifically, urban sprawl is detrimental to the physical health of males and females, but only has negative impact on the mental health of females. Younger groups are more vulnerable to physical and mental health damage from urban sprawl relative to middle-aged and older groups. In addition, urban sprawl has a significant negative impact on the health of the low-education group but a very limited impact on the health of the high-education counterpart. From an income perspective, however, the preference for suburban housing among middle- and high-income groups makes their health more vulnerable to the negative effects of urban sprawl than low-income groups living in urban centers.

Keywords: urban sprawl; physical health; mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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