Recently there has been a lot of progress on the classification of space group SPT phases. In this talk I will discuss how this classification for bosonic systems can be recovered by studying gauge invariant terms in the topological response action. Response terms provide a unified language that allows one to treat internal symmetries and space group symmetries on equal footing. By definition, the response terms capture the universal physical properties of SPT phases in the presence of both lattice and internal symmetry defects, which will be illustrated with an explicit example of charge conserving systems on the square lattice. When studying systems with boundaries, gauge invariance of the response terms also dictates the form of the edge theories.