中国老龄化地理学综述和研究框架构建

在老龄化快速推进、经济社会转型和城乡空间重构的特殊时期,中国人口老龄化现象日趋复杂,地理学与老年学等学科交叉的需求日益凸显。亟需从学科构建的角度出发,思考老龄化地理学的研究方向,填补老龄化研究的空白,丰富与拓展地理学研究领域。本文在回顾已有研究的基础上,梳理出国内老龄化地理学研究的5个主题,即：①人口老龄化的时空特征和驱动因素;②人口老龄化的空间效应;③老年人健康与环境的关系;④老年人的空间行为;⑤养老服务的空间组织与规划,并对相关研究进展进行评述。通过国内外的比较研究,对老龄化地理学的学科定位、研究体系和理论方法建构进行了分析和展望,以期为从地理学视角解读中国特定社会经济背景下的人口老龄化现象提供一个研究框架。

A review and frame-work setting of geographical research on aging in China

China is going through a very special era characterized by rapid population aging, abrupt social and economic transformations, and widespread restructuring of urban and rural spaces. With the factors and mechanisms underlying the aging process becoming increasingly complicated, integration of geographic research on aging with gerontology and other disciplines is indispensable, and it is time to examine the direction of geographical research on aging from the perspective of disciplinary development. Based on an intensive literature review, this article extracts five themes from existing geographic studies on aging in China, that is, the spatial and temporal characteristics of population aging, the social and spatial impacts of aging, interactions of human health and environments, the spatial behavior of elderly people, and spatial planning of senior services. Comments are made on existing studies along these lines respectively. Through a comparison of Chinese and western studies with regard to the socioeconomic backgrounds, policy needs, and research foci, key issues in geographical research on aging in China are raised, including academic framework and theoretical and methodological constructions. Future research emphases are discussed, with the aim to provide a general framework for understanding and studying China's aging process from the perspective of geography.