1990年以来西方城市社会地理学研究进展

PROGRESS OF WESTERN STUDIES ON URBAN SOCIAL GEOGRAPHY SINCE 1990

本文对1990年以来西方城市社会地理的研究特点进行概括,表现为研究成果不断增多、主题多样化和研究方法上从量化到质化的转变,然后从内容上进行归纳,包含社会公平、疾病与健康地理、犯罪地理、感应地理等研究重点,其中社会公平又细分为对弱势群体地理研究、福利地理以及女性地理学。这些研究在侧重点上有较大转变,从一般性社会要素空间区位探讨过渡到要素背后的社会、文化、政治等情境的结构式剖析,注重研究社会空间的隐喻和文化意义、社会问题对空间的塑造机制以及特定空间对人的再造等。在此基础上对西方城市社会地理研究进行简要评价,归结为问题导向、主题多样化、地方性研究和质化与本位研究主导,最后提出对中国社会地理研究的初步建议:壮大中国社会地理研究队伍、积极借鉴其它学科、以居民日常行为地理研究为突破口。

Western scientific geography originated from the influential quantitative revolution in 1950s. As a result, rapid progresses were achieved in both geographical theory and methodology, of which spatial analysis and positivism school played a vitally important role in the domain of human geography. Yet in 1960s various social problems, such as long-standing economic depression, severer social polarization, more obvious social inequity, appeared frequently and popularly throughout western world, bringing about sharp oppositions towards traditional geography studies in that they cared little about man＇s needs and real facts. In face of humanism since 1970s, western human geography experienced social-cultural transforming. Urban social geography, as one of the most important branches in western human geography system, has been the hottest concern and focus for western geographers＇ studies in recent years. This paper, firstly gives the definitions of social geography from different angles of views and different scholars. Secondly, it abstracts three characteristics from three aspects. In the third place, it generalizes main aspects of western urban social geography studies. In general, each research branch changes greatly respective focuses, from main introductions of basic spatial factor distribution to wider involvement of social, cultural, political factors, attaching more importance to such domains as production of space and spatial construction ＆ reconstruction, etc. What＇s more, lots of new researches are caring more about spatial meanings as well as cultural metaphors. Fourthly, it points out some personal appraisals. Generally speaking, western urban social geography studies are characterized by problem-orientation, multiple topics, local tropism as well as qualitative methods.