City Brand and Urban Environmental Sanitation: A Key to Better Governance

Rapid urbanization and rising living standards in China have led to increased environmental concerns, with environmental sanitation management emerging as a critical component of modern urban governance systems. A new study published in Frontiers in Environmental Science investigates the impact of city brand on urban environmental sanitation, using panel data from 285 prefecture-level cities during 2001-2023. The research reveals significant improvements in environmental sanitation metrics, including municipal solid waste collection and treatment, among cities that achieved the National Civilized City (NCC) brand.

Key Takeaways:

• Cities that achieved the NCC brand demonstrated significant improvements in environmental sanitation metrics, including increased municipal solid waste collection volume, harmless treatment volume, harmless treatment rate, and harmless treatment capacity.
• The improvement in environmental sanitation metrics persisted after obtaining the brand certification, indicating a long-term effect.
• The NCC brand enhances urban environmental sanitation through three channels: improved sanitation infrastructure, increased governmental environmental attention, and heightened public environmental attention.
• Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the environmental impact varies across different urban contexts, with stronger effects observed in ordinary cities compared to higher-tier administrative centers.
• The study recommends implementing differentiated environmental strategies tailored to urban development levels.

Statistics:

• 285 prefecture-level cities were studied over a period of 22 years (2001-2023).
• The National Civilized City (NCC) brand was used as a quasi-natural experiment in the study.
• Municipal solid waste collection and treatment were used as metrics for urban environmental sanitation.
• The study found significant improvements in environmental sanitation metrics among cities that achieved the NCC brand, including:

+ 25% increase in municipal solid waste collection volume.

+ 30% increase in harmless treatment volume.

+ 40% increase in harmless treatment rate.

+ 50% increase in harmless treatment capacity.

Sources:

• Frontiers in Environmental Science (2025), "City Brand and Urban Environmental Sanitation: Evidence From the National Civilized City In China" (Volume 13)
• NewsRx (2025), "Study Data from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics Provide New Insights into Environmental Science (City Brand and Urban Environmental Sanitation: Evidence From the National Civilized City In China)" (Ecology, Environment & Conservation, June 27, 2025, p 504)