In this study, we investigate the spatial evolution characteristics and driving mechanisms of the Barkhor Historic Area in Lhasa, Tibet, China, in the context of rapid urbanization and heritage conservation. Using multi-temporal spatial data, an integrated analytical framework combining a geographical information system, spatial design network analysis, and GeoDetector software 2015 is employed to examine land use, road network structure, and building morphology. The results show that the overall spatial structure remains highly continuous within a stable pilgrimage-based spatial framework, with spatial evolution occurring primarily through functional reorganization and incremental adjustment within the existing structure. Land use shifts from relatively single functions to mixed patterns, with commercial and public services increasingly concentrated along pilgrimage routes. The road network maintains a stable structural backbone centered on the pilgrimage system, while building morphology evolves through small-scale infill and localized transformation, preserving traditional spatial scales. Driving factor analysis reveals a transition from single-factor dominance to multi-factor coupling. Socio-economic factors dominate early-stage changes, spatial structure provides a persistent organizational framework, and cultural heritage increasingly shapes spatial continuity and functional adaptation. This study highlights a form of pilgrimage-oriented spatial adaptation in religious–cultural historic areas, characterized by structural continuity, functional embedding, and multi-factor coupling, and provides new perspectives for adaptive conservation and spatial governance in historic urban areas.

Residential historic districts face simultaneous pressures from tourism development, functional transformation, and the need to sustain everyday community life. Taking the Barkhor Historic Area in Lhasa as a case study, this study integrates GIS-based spatial analysis, GeoDetector, resident questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews within an environment–culture–people framework. Spatial evolution intensity (SEI) was examined for 1960–1980, 1980–2000, and 2000–2022, while GeoDetector analysis was restricted to 2000–2022 to examine the explanatory power of recent cultural-ecological factors for spatial differentiation in SEI during this period. The results show that high-SEI areas shifted from peripheral clustering to dispersed local nodes and then to a more pronounced multi-centered pattern. For 2000–2022, GeoDetector results showed generally modest explanatory power for individual cultural-ecological factors, while factor combinations exhibited higher joint explanatory power. Questionnaire results, interviews, and field observations further revealed the continued presence of religious practices and everyday residential life alongside the adaptive incorporation of new commercial and community-service functions. Based on these combined findings, three cultural-ecological pathways are proposed: cultural anchoring, functional embedding, and life maintenance. Accordingly, the study proposes a holistic conservation approach combining refined spatial identification and differentiated management, adaptive functional renewal, and sustained resident participation through multi-stakeholder governance, with the aim of coordinating cultural continuity, everyday residential life, and ongoing spatial change.