中文摘要：

空间是地理学的核心概念之一,长期以来在地理学的研究中占据核心地位。地理学对于空间的认识由于受到多学科的影响和启示也在不断演变和发展,其中哲学和社会学对空间的理解对地理科学的影响极为深刻。经济地理学作为地理学的重要分支学科之一,短短百年历史就经历了数次研究思潮的变迁和学科地位的崛起。这一切都离不开经济地理扎根于空间。空间是经济地理理论创新的源泉。本文通过对地理学中的空间概念与经济地理发展脉络的对应阐释,进一步印证了上述观点。同时,本文指出空间不能被沦落到和地方、区位、区域等概念并列的地位,空间包含着后者,须进一步强化空间的第一位性。但是也不能忽略经济地理学中的方法论的创新,每一次空间理解的突破都伴随着研究方法的创新,但是方法的创新始终是第二位的。因为方法创新的背后隐含着空间理解的改变。

英文摘要：

Space is one of the core concepts of geography, and space has been playing a central role in geogra- phy study for a long time. Geographers＇ understanding towards space is in constant evolvement and develop- ment caused by the impacts and inspiration of many subjects and the profound impacts from philosophers and sociologists in particular. As one of the important branch disciplines of geography, economic geography has ex- perienced a number of changes in the trend of thought and experienced the rise of the branch within a history of less than 100 years. All these cannot be separated from the fact that economic geography is rooted in space, and it is space that sustains the source of theoretical innovation in economic geography. The article explains the con- cept of space in geography with the development of economic geography for clues to further confirm the above viewpoints. Furthermore, the article holds that space cannot be condescended to the parallel position as place, location and region, for space contains the latter ones. Therefore, the first position should be conferred upon space. We should not ignore methodological innovation in economic geography either, for each breakthrough in understanding towards space is surely accompanied by a certain innovative research method. However, innova- tion of method has to be put in the second position, because every innovation of method always follows the change of the understanding towards space.