西安交通大学学报（社会科学版）2026，Vol.46Issue(2)：166-177,12.DOI:10.15896/j.xjtuskxb.202602014
GIS空间分析:社会学的空间想象力
GIS Spatial Analysis:The Spatial Imagination of Sociology
摘要
Abstract
The social facts are that sociology investigates all unfold within human social space;yet the discipline's theory building and empirical analysis have long lacked sufficient attention to the"spatial dimension"and the systematic tools to operationalize it.This has rendered spatial perspectives abstracted,fragmented,and marginalized,thereby constraining sociology's ability to address and interpret increasingly complex spatio-temporal structures.Since the 1970s,however,the discipline's"spatial turn",together with the maturation of Geographic Information Systems(GIS),has progressively positioned space as a key dimension for understanding complex social phenomena,offering a distinctive"spatial imagination"for overcoming sociology's dualistic analytical paradigms. This paper traces the historical lineage and core propositions of sociological discourse on space and clarifies that,even after the discipline's"spatial turn",sociology has not fully transcended its foundational dualisms.Drawing on Giddens's structuration theory,particularly the view that spatio-temporal structuring is key to reconciling binaries,we argue that confronting complex spatio-temporal formations imposes higher methodological demands on sociology.Building on advances in contemporary geographic science and technology,we propose GIS-based spatial analysis as pivotal for addressing these challenges and distill three core strengths:identifying the spatial relations of social situations;constructing integrated databases that link macro and micro levels;and developing spatial models.Using urban residents'safety perception as a case,we present in detail a working framework for applying GIS spatial analysis in sociological research.Through theoretical synthesis and a case demonstration,we conclude that GIS spatial analysis provides firm,objective support for overcoming long-standing theoretical divides and for reconstructing sociological methodology. Compared with prior literature,this paper contributes by proposing GIS-based spatial analysis as an integrated framework and by locating its value in addressing sociology's core dualisms rather than serving only as a vehicle for data visualization.Specifically,by embedding social facts within measurable and quantifiable spatio-temporal structures,GIS helps bridge the enduring oppositions that have accompanied the discipline since its inception,including macro and micro,objectivity and subjectivity,and structure and agency.On this basis,the paper calls for cultivating a sociological"spatial imagination",understood as a deliberate capacity to examine any social phenomenon within its geographical context. This paper builds a methodological bridge and provides a concrete case for interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration among sociology,geography,and data science,helping move sociological theory building and empirical research into a new era with space as a core analytical variable.It also highlights a forward-looking task:from a sociological vantage point,to distill the essential logic of plural spatiality.This is both a theoretical challenge and a key growth point for deeper integration across disciplines.关键词
社会学研究方法/空间转向/GIS空间分析/空间数据/空间建模/空间想象力/城市居民安全感知Key words
sociological methodology/spatial turn/GIS spatial analysis/spatial data/spatial modeling/spatial imagination/safety perception of residents分类
社会科学引用本文复制引用
何国喜,贺力,边燕杰..GIS空间分析:社会学的空间想象力[J].西安交通大学学报（社会科学版）,2026,46(2):166-177,12.基金项目
国家自然科学基金青年项目(42001164) （42001164）
西安交通大学统一战线智库研究项目(2025ZK203) （2025ZK203）
西安交通大学基本科研业务费(人文社科类)专项科研项目(SK2025027). （人文社科类）
