This paper examines whether the widespread adoption of digital technologies in cities has increased attractiveness. Based on China’s smart-city construction (SCC), a pilot program aimed at promoting applications of digital technologies in cities, this paper finds that SCC has led to a higher urban population growth in smart cities in China. Two potential channels are suggested by mechanism analysis: improved ecological environment resulting from digital governance with respect to pollution and green production; essential digital information provided by internet users. Specifically, relying on difference-in-differences analysis, the results reveal that, from 2005 to 2017, SCC in China led to approximately 4.4% higher urban population growth in smart cities relative to non-smart cities. In particular, evidence from migrant survey data suggests that smart cities are more favorable destinations for distant migrants, and migrants with higher educational attainment and income. Our findings highlight the importance of digitalization in urban development.

Land use changes are an important factor contributing to the increasingly severe deterioration of the ecological environment. Therefore, regional analyses of land use and ecological risk should be developed for the restoration of ecological functions. In this study, a comprehensive ecological risk assessment was constructed on a regional scale and applied to Daye, a traditional mining city in China. Cointegration analyses and Granger causality tests were used to explore the complex relationship between land use and ecological risks in the study area from 2007 to 2021. The results show a long-term and stable relationship between land use changes in different sub-regions and ecological risks, albeit with distinct Granger causality relationships. This research presents the development trend of the relationship between land use change and ecological risks in a mining city, from rapid economic growth to economic restructuring and full-region ecological governance.