WHY ARE REGIONS SO
HARD TO DEFINE?
First, Regions are about
SCALE
Global Scale
http://www.funpartystores.com/images/wbd_world-map.jpg
National Scale
http://apps3.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/images/map_us.gif
State and County Scale
http://www.touristguide.com/maps/arkansas-map.jpg
http://www.e-referencedesk.com/resources/counties/images/arkansas-county-map.gif
Wards, Precincts, Census Tracts
What is a Region?
A region is an area with
one or more traits,
characteristics, features
that are common and
make it different from
surrounding areas.
What regional maps are these?
The College Board® by Region
http://www.collegeboard.com/prod_images/about/association/cbregion.gif
The Southeastern Conference
http://billsportsmaps.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/sec3.gif
The WAC members
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/WAC-USA-states.PNG
The “Fed” has regions
http://midnight.hushedcasket.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/federal_reserve_districts_map.png
Another region
http://orgs.unt.edu/geography/Images/swaag.logo
With special thanks to Debbie Lange
Regions are defined by their
physical and human
characteristics
There are 3 types
of regions
FORMAL REGION
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/standards/05/index.html
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Also known as a uniform region
It is characterized by a common human property, such as the
presence of people who share a particular language, religion,
nationality, political identity or culture, or by a common physical
property, such as the presence of a particular type of climate,
landform, or vegetation.
Political entities such as counties, states, countries, and
provinces are formal regions because they are defined by a
common political identity.
Other formal regions include climate regions (e.g.,
Mediterranean)
Landform regions (e.g., Piedmont region of Pennsylvania)
Economic regions (e.g., wheat belt of Kansas)
Formal regions can be defined by measures of population, per
capita income, ethnic background, crop production, population
density and distribution, or industrial production, or by mapping
physical characteristics such as temperature, rainfall, growing
season
Germany is formal region
http://harryallen.info/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/germany_map.jpg
Corn Production
(and Ethanol Plants)
http://www.dailyyonder.com/files/imagecache/story_default/imagefield/cornp-production-and-ethano.jpg
Piedmont Region of Pennsylvania
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/6/60/Map_of_PA_Highlands.gif
FUNCTIONAL REGIONS
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/standards/05/index.html
Organized around a node or focal point with the
surrounding areas linked to that node by transportation
systems, communication systems, or other economic
association involving such activities as manufacturing and
retail trading.
► A typical functional region is a metropolitan area (MA) as
defined by the Bureau of Census. For example, the New
York MA is a functional region that covers parts of several
states. It is linked by commuting patterns, trade flows,
television and radio broadcasts, newspapers, travel for
recreation and entertainment.
► Other functional regions include shopping regions centered
on malls or supermarkets, area served by branch banks,
and ports and their hinterlands.
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A less formal look at functional
regions
► Defined
by a set of activities,
connections or interactions
► For example:
► Newspaper circulation area
► Commuter traffic patterns
► Subway systems in NYC, Boston, etc.
► Highway systems
NYC Subway – a functional region
http://www.johnsonbanks.co.uk/up_images/228_MTA_current_400.jpg
Perceptual Region
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/standards/05/index.html
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Construct that reflects human feelings and attitudes about
areas and is therefore defined by people’s shared
subjective images of those areas
Tends to reflect the element of people’s mental maps, and,
although it may help to impose a personal sense of order
and structure on the world, it often does so on the basis of
stereotypes that may be inappropriate or incorrect.
Examples such as: Southern California, Dixie, and the
upper Midwest are perceptual regions that are thought of
as being spatial units, although they do not have precise
borders or even commonly accepted regional
characteristics and names.
Just where is Dixie?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/US_map-The_South_Modern_.png
Gotta do the Zelinsky
Debbie gave me this map, too…
Perceptual, maybe – but how could
this region be formalized?
http://cartophilia.com/blog/uploaded_images/nikeucob-713437.jpg
Let’s do a couple of activities you
can do with your students
► In
one color draw a line around what you
think is, “THE SOUTH”
► In another color draw a line around, “THE
MIDWEST”
► In yet another color, draw a line around,
“THE NORTHEAST”
► What about “THE SOUTHWEST”