西方发达国家20世纪70年代以后陆续进入后工业化阶段,城市的空间问题主要涉及到社会空间方面。地理学对其研究的核心是在探讨城市社会-生活空间结构的基础上,准确地理解、判识生活空间的质量与类型,并通过规划制定出社会-生活区域治理对策,以提高城市空间(社区)的生活质量为最终目的。对以上命题的探索涉及到当代社会地理学、城市地理学以及在此基础上产生的城市社会地理学前沿性研究。本文从综合理念与研究模式的角度,概括当代西方国家地理学对其的探索现状、研究内容、运用的方法论以及代表成果类型。

Western developed countries have come into postindustrial stage since 1970s. Therefore, urban spatial problems are mainly concerned with social space. Based on the study on urban social-living spatial structures, the focus of the geographic study on social space is not only to understand and evaluate the quality and patterns of living space, but to set increasing the living quality of urban space(community) as its ultimate purpose through planning and establishing the ways to renovate social-living area. All these involve some preceding studies on social geography and urban geography, as well as urban social geography, which was created on the basis of social geography and urban geography in the present age. From the point of view of comprehensive concepts and study patterns, the paper generalizes the status quo, content, methodology of the study on urban living structure and achievements in western countries.