Digital infrastructure and the ecological transformation of urban expansion: evidence from China

Abstract

The rapid expansion of digital infrastructure has created new opportunities for promoting sustainable urban development and optimizing urban spatial governance. However, whether digital infrastructure can reshape urban spatial development patterns and mitigate urban sprawl remains unclear. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of digital infrastructure on urban sprawl and to explore the underlying mechanisms. Using the Broadband China pilot policy as a quasi-natural experiment, this study empirically investigates the impact of digital infrastructure on urban expansion patterns in China. The results indicate that digital infrastructure significantly promotes more sustainable and compact urban expansion by mitigating excessive urban sprawl. These findings remain robust across a series of robustness and endogeneity tests. Heterogeneity analysis further reveals that the effects are more pronounced in eastern cities, as well as in cities with larger population sizes, higher levels of marketization and urbanization, and those designated as comprehensive big data pilot zones. Mechanism analysis suggests that it facilitates innovation and entrepreneurial vitality while accelerating industrial upgrading, thereby contributing to a more efficient and sustainable urban spatial structure. Importantly, the expansion of digital infrastructure does not induce urban shrinkage; instead, it enhances regional economic resilience and supports coordinated urban development. Overall, this study provides new evidence on the ecological and spatial implications of digital infrastructure, offering important policy insights for sustainable urban planning and spatial resource allocation.