Unveiling the Impact of Public Data Access on Urban Polycentric Structure: Evidence from China

Urban sustainability has become the most important urban development issue globally. Facing the problem of spatial structure optimization during urbanization, how to effectively use public data access to promote urban polycentric development has become a new area of concern for urban planners and policy makers. To quantify how government open-data platforms shape polycentric urban spatial structure across Chinese cities, this study takes the launch of government data platforms as a quasi-natural experiment, constructs the multi-period differences-in-differences model, uses data of 271 Chinese prefectural-level cities from 2010 to 2021, and examines the impact and mechanism of public data access on urban spatial structure. We find that public data access promotes urban polycentric development, especially in large cities, those in urban agglomerations, and resource-abundant cities. The effect follows an inverted ‘N’ trend, which reflects the evolving role of PDA across different urban development stages, highlighting the need for adaptive policies to optimize its benefits. Mechanisms include information process radicalization and industrial structure upgrading, moderated positively by government intervention and regional competition. These insights can inform policies for optimizing urban spatial patterns and advancing sustainable urban development.