Effects of urban renewal on the mental health of older adults: evidence from China

Objectives This study aims to evaluate the impact of urban renewal on the mental health of older adults in China. Methods Based on the micro-data from the 2016, 2018, and 2020 waves of the China Longitudinal Aging Social Survey (CLASS) and the macro-data at the city level, nine indicators at the household, community, and city levels were selected and integrated through principal component analysis to reflect urban renewal. Then the study explored the impact of urban renewal on the mental health of older adults in China using the fixed-effects model. Results The findings revealed that urban renewal has a positive impact on the mental health of older adults at the 1% significance level. The conclusion was still valid after the instrumental variable regression method (IV) and the propensity score matching method (PSM) were used for robustness analysis. The social adaptability and life satisfaction of older adults played a significant mediating role. The heterogeneity analysis showed that older adults aged 60–69 and 80 years or older, as well as rural residents, benefit more from urban renewal. Conclusion This study highlights that urban renewal should be further intensified to increase the renewal of various facilities and services at the household, community, and city levels, thereby expanding the benefits of urban renewal on the mental health of older adults.