A GIS map showing the Forbidden City in Beijing. The introduction of the GIS in urban historical geography research fuels recovery of city spaces, as in the past literature was the sole source that could be relied on.

Urban historical geography is an important branch of historical geography. With the help of the geographic information system (GIS), research on urban historical geography now includes three-dimensional studies on city space. This field of research offers insights to guide the historical restoration of various cities. It aims to preserve historical contexts of cities and inform urban planning.

Improving accuracy

Entering the 21st century, research on urban historical geography has made remarkable breakthroughs in methodology and perspectives. With the introduction of the GIS, related research is concentrated more than ever on the characteristics and transformation of modern city spaces. Researchers are able to more precisely analyze the evolution of cities and their spaces.

Zhang Xiaohong, dean of the Institute of Chinese Historical Geography at Fudan University, said the GIS could be used to track historical changes in road and river bed systems as well as public infrastructure. She pointed out that this kind of research can effectively correct misunderstandings in recovering these spaces, as in the past they relied solely on literary sources.

Previous restoration of city spaces was mainly done by investigating urban administrative regions. Zhang suggested this research method lacks accurate time sequences and is unable to reflect the formation process of urban build-up. The use of the GIS allows scholars to use the more accurate substitute index for the restoration of urbanized areas, which not only deepens the research on historical urban appearance and spatial structure, but also lays a foundation on the studies of urban social spaces in the past.

Its focus on the evolution of cities’ internal spatial structures makes research on urban historical geography more down to earth than traditional urban historical studies. Hou Yongjian, a professor from the Northwest Institute of Historical Environment and Social-economic Development at Shaanxi Normal University, said that urban historical research still concentrates on urban development, emphasizing the general outlook of cities, while more discussion on urban internal spatial structures requires urban historical geography research. The latter seeks to link up modern city concept systems, so that the research results can be applied more easily, Hou said.

Social space research

Prior to the 21st century, academics tended to focus much more on urban physical spaces than social spaces. Cheng Yinong, dean of the Department of Historical Geography at the Institute of History at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, argues that urban social spaces are linked to social relations and rights as spatial projections of human activity and functional organization in cities. Carrying out the study of urban social space in history can expand the research field of urban historical geography and promote the diversification of urban historical research.

At the same time, the study of urban images has drawn more attention from scholars. Zhang said that with the cultural shift in the study of human geography, the relationship connecting individuals, groups and urban spaces has gradually become a hot spot in the study of urban historical geography, which is mainly reflected in the study of urban images and local attitudes.

There are many ways that urban spaces have an impact on the human mind. Zhang suggested that the formation and colors of physical entities, such as roads, temples and landmark buildings, can all visually affect people’s perceptions. In addition, sounds and smells in different corners of cities do the same. All of these reflect and influence people’s feelings about space, and shape the spatial character of different cities or different regions within the city.

Assistance

The planning and layout of ancient Chinese cities are different from those of cities today. Nevertheless, research on urban historical geography can shed light on today’s urban planning from cultural and ideological perspectives.

Cheng said the role of urban historical geography studies in the preservation and inheritance of cultural relics should be emphasized. For example, some cities ignored the basic layout and cultural influence of the old city, leading to the disappearance of original historical and cultural context. These problems could have been avoided through adequate management.

Meanwhile, he added that although modern cities differ greatly in function and structure from ancient cities, urban planning in the old days still provided some food for thought that could guide today’s urban construction. For example, quite a few natural disasters happened in recent years, such as landslides and floods, which caused serious damage to new urban areas, while old towns were unharmed. Cheng pointed out that the ancient wisdom in choosing adequate locations for cities can help in such circumstances.