Connectivity Transition Characteristics of Historical Districts' Construction Land Networks and Road Networks in Southwest China: A Case Study of Guiyang

In the era of rapid urbanization, preserving historical districts is vital, especially in culturally rich regions. By focusing on Guiyang city, a key transport hub in southwestern China, this study explores urban evolution and development principles through network analysis. It examines changes in construction land and road networks across four historical periods: the Early Ming Dynasty, the Early Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China, and the 1980s. The findings show a linear decrease in construction land network density and fluctuating decline in road network density. Centrality trends declined from the early Ming to the early Qing but increased in the 1980s, moving towards equilibrium. Overall efficiency increases with decreasing in clustering coefficient, indicating reduced vulnerability. Social, productivity, and topographical factors influence these changes. This study contrasts with European and Southeast Asian research, revealing unique trends in mountainous city evolution. Constrained by terrain and limited outward expansion, cities transition from unipolar to multipolar spatial structures. Faced with administrative constraints, they adopt concentrated spatial development. The findings suggest strategies for global mountainous city development and confirm the applicability of complex network analysis to urban spatial networks, highlighting implications for understanding transformations within China's national pattern across various dimensions.