The authors think the theory of socio spatial dialectic,which stresses that the relationship of man environment,including physical environment,social environment,constitutes the basis of urban social geography,should be the theoretical basis of urban residential differentiation research.

Since 1990s,the theoretical and empirical work in economic geography has experienced what might be termed a relational turn that focuses primarily on the ways in which socio-spatial relations of economic actors are intertwined with processes of economic change at various geographical scales.