###### Abstract
Therefore, we believe that understanding changes in road accessibility in historic urban areas and their intrinsic driving factors are of significant importance, both theoretically and practically, to the overall conservation and development of historic urban areas. Previous studies on road transport in historical urban areas have focused on three aspects: theoretical framework, planning strategy, and methodology. Regarding the first aspect, transport studies on historic urban areas were conducted earlier by western researchers. For example, the'shielding' and 'tranquility' theories were developed in 1960 based on the human-vehicle layout pattern in old towns, and the Hoi An Protocols for Best Conservation Practice in ASIA released by UNESCO in 2005 outline transportation studies against the backdrop of the protection of historical and cultural heritage. In China, the _Standard of Conservation Planning for Historic_ urban areas propose that the display and utilization of historical elements should be enhanced and the use of space should be improved through a transport optimization project [7]. Key research achievements cover the topics of 'public transportation' [8; 9], 'green transport' [10], 'dynamic renewal' [11], and 'adaptive regulation' [12; 13], among others. In terms of a planning strategy, emphasis has been given to zone control, urban transport system oriented coordination of historical site conservation and city transport development [14], a protection-prioritized transport planning policy, the fundamental mindset of local road adjustment, transport solutions based on a diversified set of tools [15; 16], the development of a comprehensive and efficient transport system that integrates historical urban areas [17], and the improvement of road transport to guide the development of historical urban area based on supply and demand [13]. In terms of methodology, quantified research on road transport in historical urban areas is gaining more attention. Tools used have included the analytic hierarchy process [12], space syntax [18], and the fractal dimension measurement algorithm [19]. In recent years, interdisciplinary studies on transport planning and complex networks have been promising, covering topics such as expressways, rail transport, urban rapid transport, rural roads, and residential roads. This research has been widely applied to find solutions to traffic congestion, sudden and destructive emergencies, and the matching of traffic and land development [20; 21; 22; 23; 24]. From the above mentioned analysis, it was concluded that further research on the intrinsic driving forces behind the transport evolution mechanism should be supplementary to the building of a theoretical framework for transport studies in historical urban areas. The development of a time-space synergy and dynamic development strategy should promote further understanding of planning strategies, and few studies have looked into the evolution of transport accessibility in historic urban area using a complex network analysis in the methodology. Consequently, this paper intends to analyze the road transport accessibility features of the Changsha historic urban area over four time periods using the complex network analysis, aiming to reveal the road transport accessibility evolution features, the internal causes of this process, and the current accessibility of cultural relics and historical sites. It is believed that this study will enhance the overall protection and development of the historical urban area of Changsha.