Spatial Organization and Structure

Abstract

Spatial organization, as one of the basic themes of geography, focuses on how to recognize and organize geographic space in which human activities occur, giving rise to spatial structures. The patterns of spatial structure can be classified into three types: contiguous structures (including uniform regions and functional regions), discrete structures (such as settlements and network cities), and integrated structures that combine both. The development of research dealing with spatial organization and structure can be divided into four periods: (i) early development in geography (pre‐1920s), (ii) emergence of spatial organization as a focus of geographical research (1920s–1940s), (iii) quantitative revolution (1950s–1970s), and (iv) new challenges since the 1980s.