Evaluation of Sustainable City and Old-Age Security Policy Intervention in China

Abstract

It is becoming increasingly urgent to address the health of the urban environment and the aging population as cities increasingly absorb the majority of the world’s population. Efforts to promote “healthy cities” continue to garner interest as a means of empowering local communities to improve residents’ access to healthcare and encourage them to adopt more preventative practices. Due to the confluence of urbanization and population aging in China, the country’s cities must be designed and constructed to accommodate a wider range of residents and improve the quality of life for residents of all ages. A policy intervention evaluation model for the sustainable city index system is introduced after briefly reviewing the historical progression of sustainable city construction and the policies around the world. Then, six main pilot cities are selected to analyze their unique characteristics and trends across various dimensions. Finally, the dynamic simulation model is used to simulate the operation status of the pilot city system according to different dynamic factors. Two main conclusions are reached. (1) In different areas, the implementation of the sustainable city pilot strategy has had varying degrees of encouraging effects on building projects. (2) Overall, the pilot cities’ observed value is quite near to the control value calculated here. This suggests the synthetic control unit closely resembles the actual pilot city in terms of layout and design. (3) The healthy city pilot policy has a promotion effect on healthy city construction, as measured by its effect size of 0.015. This work can serve as a theoretical reference for promoting healthy city growth and as a guide for the city’s benign operation.