AUTHOR=Yang Hao , Wang Xiaohui , Lou Wenlong 
  
TITLE=Effects of urban renewal on the mental health of older adults: evidence from China
  
JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health
  
VOLUME=Volume 71 - 2026
  
YEAR=2026
  
URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2026.1609984
  
DOI=10.3389/ijph.2026.1609984
  
ISSN=1661-8564
  
ABSTRACT=ObjectivesThis study aims to evaluate the impact of urban renewal on the mental health of older adults in China.MethodsBased 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.ResultsThe 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.ConclusionThis 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.