Economic Impact of Urban River Restoration on Resident Life Satisfaction

Urban river restoration brings about ecological improvements to the urban environment and generates social benefits. However, previous studies have paid insufficient attention to investigating the social value of urban river restoration, especially its impacts on residents’ living conditions. This study aimed to examine how urban river restoration affects residents’ life satisfaction, using life satisfaction data to evaluate the value of river restoration. This study examines the effects of urban river restoration in Nanyang, China, from 2015 to 2019, combining public opinion surveys and water quality monitoring data. Using a difference-in-differences (DID) approach, the results demonstrate a significant positive impact of river restoration on life satisfaction. This improvement is attributed to enhanced water quality, increased recreational opportunities and better aesthetic environments. Robustness checks, including placebo tests and ordered probit models, confirm the validity of the findings. Economic valuation through the life satisfaction approach estimates residents’ willingness to pay (WTP) for river restoration at 24,780 CNY-27,129 CNY (3,591–3,928 USD) per year. For a one standard deviation improvement in water quality, the WTP is 12,631 CNY (1,830 USD) per year for biological oxygen demand (BOD) reduction and 13,116 CNY (1,900 USD) per year for chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction. These findings underscore the importance of integrating urban river restoration with social well-being considerations, providing policymakers with evidence to prioritize urban river restoration as part of sustainable urban development strategies.