Amid intensifying climate change, climate physical risks (CPR)—including extreme heat, heavy rainfall, and drought—have become critical constraints on urban development. This study constructs an Urban Sustainability and Resilience (USR) index using data from 177 Chinese cities from 2000 to 2023, and applies a spatial Durbin model to examine the spatial impacts of CPR. Technological Innovation (TI) development and government support (GS) are incorporated to identify the underlying transmission mechanisms. The results show the following: (1) CPR exerts a significant negative influence on USR, displaying a spatial pattern of “mild local enhancement but strong spillover attenuation,” consistently observed for both sustainability and resilience. (2) Notable regional heterogeneity exists: CPR effects are strongest in western cities, while eastern and central cities experience weaker impacts due to higher adaptive capacity. (3) Mechanism analysis indicates that TI and GS serve as partial mediators, forming a “risk–technology–governance” transmission pathway. These findings provide empirical evidence for strengthening urban climate adaptation, promoting regional collaborative governance, and enhancing digital risk-response capabilities.
Wang et al. (Tue,) studied this question.