From urban renewal to urban–rural renewal: exploring new paths for integrated urban–rural development in China

Integrated urban–rural development (IURD) is an essential requirement for China’s modernization. As a key driver of IURD, urban renewal plays a vital role; therefore, assessing its impact on this process is of great significance. Using panel data from 274 prefecture-level and above cities in China covering 2007–2022, we construct composite indices via the entropy method and employ a two-way fixed-effects model to examine how urban renewal affects IURD. The findings indicate that (1) Urban renewal significantly promotes IURD, a result that remains robust across a battery of robustness checks. (2) The impact of urban renewal on IURD varies across geographic accessibility, urban hierarchy and city size. (3) Urban renewal not only directly influences IURD but also exerts indirect effects by facilitating population mobility and curbing urban sprawl. This study supplements theoretical mechanisms and empirical evidence regarding the impact of urban renewal on IURD, providing policy implications for advancing IURD.