A Comparative Study of Land Use Change in Historic Metropolises in China and Italy: The Cases of Xi’an and Rome

Historic metropolises face the dual challenge of accommodating contemporary urban development while conserving cultural heritage and managing land consumption. This study compares land use transitions in Xi’an, China, and Rome, Italy, from 2000 to 2020 using the 30 m GLC_FCS30D land cover dataset. By integrating land use composition analysis, transition matrices, intensity analysis, and source contribution analysis, this study examines the magnitude, temporal intensity, and dominant pathways of land conversion and provides comparative insights into differentiated transition patterns under contrasting urban development contexts. Both cities experienced built expansion and crop loss, with crop serving as the dominant source of newly developed built. Net built area gain was approximately 915 km2 in Xi’an and 235 km2 in Rome, while crop supplied approximately 99% and more than 95% of newly developed built, respectively, across individual intervals. Xi’an exhibited a rapid, temporally fluctuating expansion pattern, with particularly active built area gains during 2000–2005 and 2015–2020, whereas Rome showed a gradual adjustment pattern characterized by lower and generally declining change intensity. These findings indicate that comparable historical significance does not necessarily lead to uniform land use transition pathways and highlight the importance of context-specific land governance strategies for historic metropolitan cities.