The impact and interactive effects of multi-level spatial policies on urban renewal: A case study of Shenzhen, China

Spatial policies are crucial to regulating the harmful consequences of land use change on social-ecological systems. As the urban development model transitions to urban regeneration, the efficacy of spatial policies on urban renewal remains insufficiently explored. To investigate the mechanism of multi-level spatial policies on urban renewal, we employ logit models to scrutinize the impact of four spatial policies on urban renewal in Shenzhen from 2010 to 2020, along with embedding interaction effect models to examine the interaction between multiple policies. This study comprehends the mechanism of multi-level policies in three dimensions: spatial, temporal, and interactive. (1) Small-scale spatial policies tend to have a more substantial control effect, with micro land use policies increasing the probability of urban renewal by 2.04–3.77 times. Urban renewal prioritizes inward development, demanding a higher level of spatial policy resolution. (2) Except for the planned main city centers, the effects of all policies escalate over time, with the intensity of commercial planning surging up to 139% in 2016–2020 compared to the previous period. (3) Interaction effects between policies exist between policies at different scales. The effects of the main centers and the urban renewal planning reinforce each other by 37%, while the effects of the main centers and the commercial plans counteract each other by 34%. The coordination of multisectoral policies and the diversified use of policy instruments are conducive to enhancing the interactive effects between policies.