INTERACTION BETWEEN PHYSICAL AND ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY

The chairmen of the departments of physical geography and economic geography of the USSR at Moscow University call for greater interplay between the two major subfields of geography, particularly in the context of geographical research for regional planning and geographical prediction generally. The demands of a modern economy require a more integrated approach to the study of spatial systems encompassing the totality of the natural environment, settlement, production and living conditions. Such close interaction between physical and economic geography needs to be pursued at all levels of geography as a discipline, from international geographical congresses down to ordinary student field practice.     

Green cities? Urbanization,trade, and the environment

Is urbanization good for the environment? This paper establishes a simple core–periphery model with monocentric cities, which comprises key forces that shape the structure and interrelation of cities to study the impact of the urban evolution on the environment. We focus on global warming and the potential of unfettered market forces to economize on emissions. The model parameters are chosen to match the dichotomy between average “large” and “small” cities in the urban geography of the United States, and the sectoral greenhouse gas emissions recorded for the United States. Based on numerical analyzes we find that a forced switch to a system with equally sized cities reduces total emissions. Second, any city driver which pronounces the asymmetry between the core and the periphery drives up emissions in the total city system, too, and the endogenous adjustment of the urban system accounts for the bulk of the change in emissions. Third, none of the city drivers gives rise to an urban environmental Kuznets curve according to our numerical simulations. Finally, the welfare‐maximizing allocation tends to involve dispersion of cities and the more so the higher is the marginal damage from pollution.     

The Subject and Structure of Geosystems Theory

A logical model of the system of disciplines generally known as physical geography distinguishes three subjects of study, each associated with a particular level of organization of the basic study object, namely the earth's physical landscape envelope or landscape shell and its subsystems (individual landscapes or geocomplexes): (1) study of the componental level of organization would be the subject of the particular disciplines in physical geography (geomorphology, climatology, etc.); (2) study of the integrated level of organization would be the subject of landscape science, which is viewed as a synthesis of the particular disciplines; (3) study of the earth's natural environment at the level of the entire landscape envelope would be the subject of general physical geography or general earth science. The subject matter of the particular disciplines and of the synthesized landscape science is further broken down into research areas: regional research (concerned with geographical spaces); typological research (quasi-geographical spaces) and general research (nongeographical).     

On the Significance of Lenin's Ideas for Soviet Geography

The president of the Geographical Society USSR reviews the present state of Soviet geographic theory in the light of Leninist philosophy. The objective existence of natural regions with definite boundaries is affirmed. The approach of “social physics,” applying natural laws to social phenomena, is rejected. The use of mathematical techniques is welcomed, but not to the extent of giving rise to a separate discipline of “theoretical geography” that would deal with whatever is common to both physical and economic geography. The geographical environment is defined as that part of the earth's natural environment in which nature and society are in direct interaction. Both geographical determinism and social determinism (geographical nihilism) are rejected. The definition of geography as a system of scientific disciplines is affirmed, and a proposed redefinition of geography as dealing with the evolution and control of dynamic spatial systems is rejected.     

Geographical Aspects of Urbanization

From the geographical point of view, urbanization is treated as a result of economic development as it affects the settlement through the spatial structure of the economy. The spatial structure of the economy and the settlement patterns determine the character of land use in particular physical environments. The urbanization process gives rise to a new, urbanized environment, involving both settlement forms and an altered physical environment. Geographers can make a contribution in urbanization research by focusing on three groups of questions: (1) an analysis of the spatially expressed factors of urbanization to gain an understanding of the mechanism by which an urbanized environment is created; (2) study of settlement and the physical environment as they change in the course of urbanization; (3) investigation of the impact of urbanization on man in terms of mobility, employment, education, etc. Separate indicators need to be developed for each group of questions, crowned ultimately by an integral, synthetic indicator (or indicators) that would offer a generalized characterization of the urbanization process as a whole.     

The Subject of Geography and the Science of the Man-Nature Relationship

A philosopher views the geographical environment as a natural-social concept, in which individual elements function simultaneously in a system of natural and social relationships. The geographical environment should be the province of a discipline called general geography, which would exist in addition to specialized physical and social geography. However, since general geography is limited spatially to the earth's landscape sphere, it cannot deal with the broader aspects of the man-nature relationship now that man's influence extends increasingly beyond the earth into outer space. A new discipline called “noology” is proposed to deal with the interplay between human society and all of nature.     

农业转移人口市民化与地方依恋:基于快速城镇化背景

以人文地理学和环境心理学为基础的地方依恋理论强调人对所处地方的感情联系,有助于弥补传统社会学、经济学、城市规划学及其他相关领域视角的不足,为快速城镇化背景下促进农业转移人口市民化提供更广阔的人本化的思维,具有深刻的理论和现实意义。随着"以人为本"的新型城镇化进程与户籍体制改革的推进,对宏观结构变迁背景下农业转移人口微观行为的研究亟待深入,藉此本研究在总结国内农业转移人口市民化研究与地方依恋在西方城市化研究领域进展的基础上,分析了地方依恋理论应用于我国农业转移人口市民化研究的思维视角,总结了相关研究的立足点。最后提出了未来的研究方向。     

GEOGRAPHICAL SYSTEMS AND ECONOMIC-GEOGRAPHICAL SYSTEMS

A group of physical geographers of the Institute of Geography in Moscow, the principal academic research institution in geography, published an article in 1974 seeking to define and categorize terms and concepts now being used in Soviet geography. The article said the term geosystem (geographical system) applied equally to physical-geographical and socio-economic entities, and the term “geographical environment”, in actual research practice, referred not only to the physical setting of human activities, but also to engineering elements and social conditions. The present writer contends that such a definition of the geographical environment, incorporating both natural and social elements, smacks of a unified geography, and that geosystems, as originally defined, refer only to natural terrestrial systems, excluding man.     

Straddling the Boundaries Between Sciences

The author reverts to the theme that, in addition to the particular disciplines in physical geography and in economic geography, there is a genuine need for a general geographic approach to study of the geographical environment and of the man-nature relationship. As a result of the growing social impact on the environment, the operation of natural laws and social laws becomes so closely intertwined that no single discipline operating with one particular set of laws is capable of understanding the complex processes and phenomena in the interplay between nature and society. The growing specialized differentiation of geography as a science does not eliminate it as a distinct field of human knowledge with a common object of study. However there is a danger that the process of differentiation may be going too far, with an increasing number of scholars from adjacent disciplines coming into geography. The trend is said to be evident in the advanced training of geographers in universities, where geography facilities are turning into collections of departments turning out, say, meteorologists with little general geographic background. And yet there is a growing need for broadly trained geographers, particularly in the entire field of long-range planning and pre-planning research, in which the author is engaged.     

On the Unity of Geography

A Leningrad University physical geographer criticizes attempts to affirm the unity of geography through the creation of new disciplines like “general geography,” which would focus on study of the man-nature relationship. He contends that such a general geography, which would seek to identify general geographic laws, is advocated primarily by economic geographers who would emphasize the role of man at the expense of physical geography. Isachenko takes issue with the view that what makes any research “geographical” is its relationship to man. He contends that the criterion of whether any investigation is “geographical” is its relationship to the geosystem, defined as any natural complex, ranging from the global to the local scale. In his opinion, the unity of geography should be furthered not through the establishment of new supradisciplines, such as general geography, but through closer ties, both in methodology and in organizational terms, between the two main groups of geographical disciplines—physical geography and economic geography.     

Picturing the city: young people's representations of urban environments

Urban environments form the setting of everyday life for most Western young people. This article explores visual representations of cities made by young people in a range of environments within four countries. The findings inform a larger study on urban geographies within geography education. We analyse students' drawings of cities regarding physical characteristics, activities and issues. There are many commonalities between drawings from the four countries, the majority showing a ‘big, busy city’ representation with skylines, traffic and shopping areas. There are also distinctive characteristics for each set, for example Finnish students tended to emphasise environmental and social issues more than in the other countries. In relation to methodology, we conclude that drawings, supported by contextual information, are a useful source to understand young people's representations of cities. Further, this research supports thinking about how to merge young people's experiences and imaginaries with the teaching of urban geography.     

瑞典人文地理学发展回顾

瑞典作为北欧国家之一,其特殊的地理和社会环境,为学术发展提供了特有的基础,也形成了独特的传统。作为少数未参加第二次世界大战的国家之一,瑞典建立并逐步完善了福利体系,人文地理学的发展正是在这一过程中逐步发展起来,对瑞典福利体系的建立起到了不可忽视的作用,同时也逐步形成了其特有的研究体系,并在部分领域成为先导者。本文将通过回顾瑞典人文地理学的发展历程,重点分析瑞典人文地理学的三个重点研究领域:区域规划研究与应用,历史地理与景观研究,时间地理学。     

On the Problems of Geography and the Tasks of Popularizing Geographical Knowledge

A Moscow University geographer who advocates a unity of geography uses the medium of the Znaniye [Knowledge] Society, an organization for the popularization of scientific knowledge and communist ideology, to review the basic problems confronting geography as a research discipline. He reviews the historical sequence of philosophic concepts relating to the man-environment system in an attempt to justify his approach to the system as one in which both natural and social laws operate. Anuchin stresses the need for pure theoretical research in geography and polemicizes with those who seek prompt practical results. He restates his definition of the geographical environment as that part of the earth's landscape sphere in which nature and society interact as two parts of a single whole governed by distinctive laws. The metachronous character of development of the landscape sphere, with several parts formed at various times, is cited as an example of such a universal law. Anuchin agrees with the authors of The Science of Geography, the 1965 report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Geography, Division of Earth Sciences of the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council, that geography's overriding problem is to gain an understanding of the man-environment system and to develop tools for geographical prediction. An ability to predict the consequences of man's interference in natural processes is depicted as the principal contribution that geography can make to the pursuit of knowledge at the present stage of human development. If geography is unable to meet its responsibilities, the problem of geographical prediction may have to be taken over by other disciplines. Soviet biologists have already suggested the creation of a new science, geohygiene, to deal with the man-environment relationship.     

理论与实践高度融合的城市地理学——南京大学地理学科发展90周年回顾与展望

本文回顾了南京大学城市地理研究发展变迁的历史过程,将其划分为探索研究时期、复苏发展时期、旺盛发展时期和多元化发展时期几个阶段,系统总结了在城市化、城镇体系、城市与区域规划及管治等领域的研究成果。南京大学是国内最早开展城市化理论、城镇体系理论及城市与区域研究的机构,提出了"三结构一网络"的城镇体系结构、"城市-区域"观等经典理论。改革开放后的30多年来,南京大学城市地理高度融合理论研究与规划实践,取得了长足的发展并夯实了自己的学科发展优势。在未来发展中,应进一步加强对健康城市化、城市网络体系、城市空间重构及宜居城市与智慧城市等内容的研究。     

从南京城市地理格局研究古都风貌规划

历史时期自然地理格局对于南京古都景观形成有至关重要作用。目前我国的古都风貌保护规划往往是从建筑学角度出发,而缺少对产生历史城市的自然环境变迁分析,以及相应的从地理研究角度的古都风貌保护规划。探查地理系统中的历史城市起源和发展的山水脉络,这对研究城市持续发展与特色继承有重要作用。现代南京城市发展支离破碎地分解了历史上的连绵山峦整体,河流水系网络已经断断续续。顺延山峦与河流脉络调查分析古都遗址是本文研究思路。本篇探讨以地理景观分析并规划形成南京古都风貌保护的地理格局网络:以连绵丘岗山系、河流城濠为骨干,保持山体轮廓的连续性,河流水网的完整性;以自然山水地形为纽带贯通各自相对独立的历史遗迹;以明朝城垣、历史街区为网络,以及分散在各地的重点建筑保护范围,构成完整的古都风貌保护的格局。     

吴良镛学术思想对文物事业的贡献

吴良镛教授是著名学者,同时也是一名坚定的文化遗产捍卫者.他不仅在建筑、城市规划、教育等方面做出杰出贡献,而且在文化遗产保护领域,也开辟了许多重要的和基础性的工作.他对中国传统文化的丰富蕴藏一直情有独钟,不仅在规划设计中非常重视文化的影响因素,对历史文化名城古建保护的研究也颇有建树,为宣传保护历史文物及自然生态环境不遗余力."有机更新"理论,是吴良镛教授针对北京旧城和其他历史性城市的规划建设实践,总结国际城市发展的经验教训,进行长期研究而提出的理论.他创立了"广义建筑学"理论,采用"融贯的综合研究"方法,扩大传统建筑学的概念和视野,推动建筑学科的进步.在"人居环境科学"体系中,他创造性地提出以城市规划,建筑与园林为核心,整合工程、社会、地理、生态等相关学科的发展模式.     

欧美应用地理学研究的主要内容和特点

应用地理学以地理学的理论和方法为基础,是纯学术地理学的延伸,包括评价和实施两个重要阶段,价值分析在其中起很大作用。欧美应用地理学的研究内容包括:环境与资源、规划与建设、文化与社会;其显著特点是:与政府和企业密切合作、致力于解决现实紧迫问题、特别强调区域研究和规划与政策的评价与实施。     

论我国城市开放空间系统的优化

城市开放空间系统优化是强化生态城市建设,进而推动城市可持续发展的重要途径。本文讨论了我国城市开放空间系统优化的重大意义,指出:城市的可持续发展强烈呼唤生态城市建设,而生态城市建设必须以城市开放空间系统的优化为支撑。解析了城市开放空间系统的空间形态结构和要素组成结构,阐明了开放空间系统的实用功能、生态功能、文化功能、景观功能和调控功能等,提出了城市开放空间系统优化的理论基础和应遵循的基本原则。在此基础上,着重论述了城市开放空间系统优化的基本对策和空间布局结构优化、圈层一体化优化、系统要素优化等主要工作内容。     

中国城市地理研究的若干问题:海外学者的观点

海外学者是中国城市地理研究的一支重要力量,取得了许多重要的研究成果,提高了中国城市地理在国际学术界的地位。本文就海外学者对中国城市地理研究的主要问题:经济发展与城市化、全球化与城市发展、体制改革与城市转型及城市地理的理论与方法等方面进行归纳总结,期望加强了解,取长补短,相互学习,共同促进中国地理学的发展。     

信息通讯技术(ICT)与城市地理研究综述

信息通讯技术（ICT）已成为现代城市发展的重要推动力,对城市居民空间行为产生了深刻影响。本文在对国内外相关文献梳理的基础上,从城镇化、城镇体系、城市活动空间、虚拟空间与实体空间、智慧城市等方面对ICT与城市地理领域的关联性研究进行了综述。研究发现,ICT通过促进产业结构高级化协同城镇化发展,通过改变流动性、邻近性改变城镇体系与城市空间结构。同时基于虚拟空间—实体空间,构建信息通讯技术背景下城市空间与居民空间行为作用机制。在新型城镇化背景下,基于微观尺度聚焦居民个人空间行为的研究亟待开展,空间正义、社会公平、区域发展均衡等议题亟待关注,融合信息通讯技术的城市空间理论亟待发展。