人类生态学是美国城市研究领域中最重要的理论体系之一。芝加哥学派将人类生态观引入城市学研究,提出了认识城市的系统方法和理论,至今仍有一定的影响和指导意义。美国20世纪早期的城市研究肇源并集中于生态研究,人类生态学奠定了城市学基础,许多新的概念与假设都是在修正和补充早期生态理论的基础上发展起来。经典生态学观点在城市研究领域的应用是对城市空间结或增长模式的探索。传统生态学与当代生态理论的主要基本区别在于前者总结了人类生态体系的纵向结构,而后者揭示了横向结构。美国人类或城市生态学主要研究成果大大充实和深化了人们对现代城市的理解。 Human ecology is one of the most important theoretical systems in American urban research. The Chicago School introduced the concept of human ecology into the study of urban science and put forward systematic methods and theories for understanding the city, which still have some implications and guiding significance. Urban studies in the early 20th century originated in the United States and concentrated on ecological research. Human ecology laid the foundation of urban science. Many new concepts and assumptions were developed based on the revision and supplement of earlier ecological theories. The application of classical ecology in the field of urban research is an exploration of the urban spatial knot or growth pattern. The main difference between traditional ecology and contemporary ecological theory lies in that the former summarizes the vertical structure of the human ecosystem and the latter reveals the horizontal structure. The major findings of human or urban ecology in the United States have greatly enriched and deepened people’s understanding of the modern city.