Evolvement of Western Urban Sociology Research Paradigm.

Western urban sociology, originating from modern European industrial revolution and the process of urbanization, has witnessed paradigm shifts in line with the development of western urbanization. In America, it once developed into a paradigm based on human ecology, which was proposed and upheld by the Chicago School. Through criticizing the Chicago School, the school of New Urban Sociology, characterized by its proposal of space justice and social stratification movement, got established. Then along with the emergence of Fordist cities, the development of service economy caused by outsourcing production, and the process of globalization, the sociological studies on cities have shifted from "local" to "global", hence the establishment of the Los Angles School, which focuses on the global urban space and the world city. A survey of the paradigm shifts in western urban sociology reveals that the further development of western urban sociology will be determined by the characteristics of cities acquired in the process of urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]