Spatiotemporal Evolution and Spatial Conflicts of Production–Living–Ecological Spaces in Shenmu City, China

Resource-based cities face complex land-use pressures. Examining the evolution of production–living–ecological spaces (PLESs) and the spatial conflicts associated with this evolution provides an important basis for reducing land-use tensions and promoting more coordinated and sustainable spatial development. Drawing on land-use records spanning 2000–2020, this study integrates a transfer-matrix approach, a PLES conflict assessment model, and spatial autocorrelation analysis to examine the spatiotemporal evolution of PLESs and their conflict patterns in Shenmu City, China. The results show that (1) industrial production land expanded more rapidly than any other land category, mainly through the conversion of agricultural production land. Agricultural production land continued to decrease as it was converted into both industrial production land and ecological land. Grassland served as an important transitional space between production and ecological spaces, with its evolution shifting from rapid expansion in the early period to relative stability in the later period. (2) In terms of spatial conflicts, moderate conflict remained the dominant category and generally increased over time. By contrast, strong and relatively strong conflicts decreased, while weak and relatively weak conflicts gradually increased. Spatially, conflict patterns shifted from highly concentrated areas in the southeastern resource-extraction zone to a more dispersed and balanced regional distribution. (3) Global <!-- MathType@Translator@5@5@MathML2 (no namespace).tdl@MathML 2.0 (no namespace)@ -->