20世纪人口地理学研究进展

Review of Population Geography in the Past Century

20世纪之前的人口地理学只是从属于传统地理学的人口地理研究。进入20世纪,人口地理研究尚未从人文地理学中独立出来,内容上延续了拉采尔的人类地理学思想;二战以后,人口地理研究逐步向人口地理学纵深发展,50年代人口地理学逐步成形。20世纪后半叶,人口地理学得到了持续快速发展:出生率与老龄化、迁移与流动、人口与脆弱性等世界性人口问题成为热点研究主题。未来人口地理学家仍将关注人口差异、脆弱性及空间分析,加强人口统计数据空间化方法研究,从不同地理尺度与地理维度应对人口地理学的新挑战。

Population geography is a study of the ways in which spatial variations in the distribution, composition, migration and growth of population are related to the nature of places. Long before the last century, there was no discipline called population geography. However, the early substantial relevant investigations of population geography were embodied in the traditional geography. In the first half of the 20th century, yet researches of population geography still did not become independent from human geography. The philosophy of anthropo- geography of Friedrich Ratzel was inherited during the same period. After the Second World War, the studies of population geography progressively develop toward a subfield within geography. It was not until the 1950s was the science of population geography gradually established. Since then, the population geography as a branch subject has gained a persistent and fast development. Bulks of population matters are involved in the scope of population geography in the start of new millennium. Above all, some worldwide concerned and ongoing issues such as fertility and ageing, mobility and migration, and population and vulnerability have turned into hot themes lately. In the near future, population and difference, vulnerability, and spatial analysis will still be key interests of population geographers. To cope with the new challenges, the geographic scale and geographic dimensions of population problems should be emphasized, and the methodologies of spatialization of statistical population should be intensified simultaneously.