The Impact of the National Civilized City Evaluation on Urban Resilience from the Perspective of Administrative Competition

Resilience refers to a city's ability to withstand risks. Research into the impacts of Chinese urban governance models on urban resilience is limited; thus, in this study, we used a difference-in-differences approach and a spatial spillover model to examine the effects of the national civilized city evaluation on urban resilience based on data from 263 prefecture-level cities in China from 2009 to 2019. Data analysis results indicate that the national civilized city evaluation not only enhances urban resilience but also promotes the urban resilience levels of neighboring cities. Furthermore, a city's digital economy can strengthen the effects of the national civilized city evaluation on its urban resilience. Our conclusions suggest that the government should refine the national civilized city evaluation system, coordinate digital economic development, optimize the spatial layouts of cities, and better utilize the urban governance efficacy of the evaluation.