The progress in urban social spactial differentiation study of China

Abstract

Urban social gegraphy and its subfield—urban social-spatial differentiation have been developed since the 1960s. In China, with the development of urban geography during the 1970s and prosperity in the 1980s, its study fields have been expanded, the research technology and theory have been renewed. There are two main sub-methodologies of urban social space study: ecological and comparative methodologies. Since Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou metropolitans are located at the window of China to overseas, it is reasonable to chose them as the main research regions, and the study on them has been strengthened since the 1980s. The research fields can be classified into five sub-fields: (1) social structure transformation and economic transit; (2) the change of cognition and behavior differentiation; (3) the relation between culture transformation and space differentiation in organization; (4) land use differentiation and the transit of planning method; (5) material environment differentiation. We should strengthen the study of internal relation between resident space structure changing with time and space, and landuse; the division of a consumer and provision markets which can further understand the mechanism of social spatial differentiation; the effect of resident segregation; what’s its benefits which can be accepted by community; and, how to the study result of community replacement, state house distribution policy and management into the social practice.