Abstract
More countries and regions are joining the bandwagon of smart city construction, which is an important strategy and innovative urban governance concept to solve the problem of rapid urbanization. This paper examines whether smart city innovation is able to ameliorate the traffic congestion faced by a large number of cities. Using panel data for 187 prefecture-level cities in China from 2008 to 2017, this paper tests the effect of implementation of a smart city on urban traffic congestion with the difference-in-difference method. The results show that, firstly, the construction of smart cities have significantly reduced the degree of urban traffic congestion and improved the quality and capacity of public transport. Secondly, information technology and urban innovation are the main mechanisms for smart city implementation to improve urban traffic problems. Thirdly, the improvement effect of smart city implementation on traffic management shows an increasing marginal effect over time. By overcoming the estimation bias in previous studies, this study accurately analyzes the positive role and dynamic effect of smart city construction on traffic improvement. It augments the literature of program evaluation and assessment of smart city implementation. By examining how to improve traffic congestion, it offers some insights that could inspire governments to build smarter cities with better traffic.
Highlights
Urbanization is an inevitable trend of social development
In order to further eliminate the endogenous impact of missing variables, control variables are added in column (2), and the estimated coefficient of treat × post is significantly reduced, but the result is still significantly positive (β1 = 8185.145, p < 0.05), which indicates that smart city construction significantly reduces traffic congestion
As a new type of city development strategy relying on information technology, smart city construction promises to reform the traditional urban organization and management model, so as to promote the effective allocation of data and resources and solve the problems of urbanization
Summary
Urbanization is an inevitable trend of social development. It brings potentiality, new sources for the accumulation of social wealth, and the improvement of public life quality, but it promotes great changes in human production patterns and lifestyles [1]. Problems concomitant to rapid urban growth, mainly urban traffic congestion, have become increasingly serious. The sprawling growth of cars, large population, and lagging road infrastructure construction continue to exacerbate urban carrying loads and road traffic burdens, causing a large number of cities in China to experience traffic congestion. The estimated direct or indirect economic losses caused by traffic jams to American car owners reach $300 billion, with an average of $1400 per driver [6]. Investigating the factors causing traffic congestion, seeking ways to reduce traffic congestion, and strengthening the research on the mechanisms of improving urban traffic congestion are of important theoretical significance, and of policy guidance value, to help the government formulate traffic policies, promote economic growth, and increase public welfare
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