CONSTRUCTION OF URBAN GEOGRAPHYWITH CHINA'S CHARACTERISTICS——Commentary on the Research Progress of China's Urban Geography
NING Yue-min1,2
1. The Center for Modern Chinese City Studies, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China;
2. The Center for City and Region Studies, Shanghai Academy of Social Science, Shanghai 200020, China
Abstract The urban Geography, an emerging subject, has grown up rapidly in the past 30 years, broadening the mind and opening some new academic areas in research fields. It has the characteristics of multi-science and intertwining.
The paper summarized the research progress of urban geography in urbanization, urban system, urban economy and social geography since 1980 in China, giving a full account of and comment on the research process, contents, key theories, and the features of urban geography. The author believed that the rapid economic development of China had resulted in the swift transition of economy and society in China. Especially, the great changes in the urban social structure, urban community types and the relationship between the urban classifications have provided the precious opportunities and spaces for the development and study of the urban geography in China.
Also, the paper mentions that, with the 30 years constant efforts, China's urban geography has made a great achievement. First of all, a sustainable researching team has been formed in this field. More and more young researchers have emerged in recent years and have become the key forces while the older generation still keep on working on this subject. They are distributed mainly at the universities and some research institutes over Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing. Meanwhile, many oversea Chinese began to pay thire attention to the study on China's urban geography.
In addtion, researches on China's urban geography have owned its own researching characteristics, which, at its beginning, were derived from the theories of urbanization in the west, now presenting the uniqueness of urbanization in China at the same time. These unique theories, formed in the fields of urbanization, suburb dynamic mechanism, studies on the metropolitan ranges and urban system, featured with practicality.
As a developing country, China should pay more attentionn to the development theme of urban economic society in the future, especially to the spatial and regional proplem of China's urban development in the field of China's urban geography under the background of industrialization, urbanization, information, market and globalization, so that the urban geography can be developed and strengthened with China's characteristics.
2008, Vol. 23 
