WHY ARE REGIONS SO HARD TO DEFINE?

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WHY ARE REGIONS SO HARD TO DEFINE?
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First, Regions are about

• SCALE

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Global Scalehttp//www.funpartystores.com/images/
wbd_world-map.jpg
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National Scalehttp//apps3.eere.energy.gov/greenp
ower/images/map_us.gif
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State and County Scalehttp//www.touristguide.com
/maps/arkansas-map.jpghttp//www.e-referencedesk.
com/resources/counties/images/arkansas-county-map.
gif
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Wards, Precincts, Census Tracts
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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.
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What regional maps are these?
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The College Board by Regionhttp//www.collegeboa
rd.com/prod_images/about/association/cbregion.gif
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The Southeastern Conferencehttp//billsportsmaps.
com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/sec3.gif
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The WAC membershttp//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe
dia/commons/8/83/WAC-USA-states.PNG
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The Fed has regionshttp//midnight.hushedcasket
.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/federal_reserve_di
stricts_map.png
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Another regionhttp//orgs.unt.edu/geography/Image
s/swaag.logo
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With special thanks to Debbie Lange
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Regions are defined by their physical and human
characteristics
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There are 3 types of regions
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FORMAL REGIONhttp//www.nationalgeographic.com/xp
editions/standards/05/index.html

• 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

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Germany is formal regionhttp//harryallen.info/wp
-content/uploads/2008/04/germany_map.jpg
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Corn Production (and Ethanol Plants)http//www.da
ilyyonder.com/files/imagecache/story_default/image
field/cornp-production-and-ethano.jpg
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Piedmont Region of Pennsylvaniahttp//upload.wiki
media.org/wikipedia/en/6/60/Map_of_PA_Highlands.gi
f
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FUNCTIONAL REGIONShttp//www.nationalgeographic.c
om/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

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NYC Subway a functional regionhttp//www.johnso
nbanks.co.uk/up_images/228_MTA_current_400.jpg
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Perceptual Regionhttp//www.nationalgeographic.co
m/xpeditions/standards/05/index.html

• Construct that reflects human feelings and
  attitudes about areas and is therefore defined by
  peoples shared subjective images of those areas
• Tends to reflect the element of peoples 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.

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Just where is Dixie?http//upload.wikimedia.org/w
ikipedia/commons/a/a3/US_map-The_South_Modern_.png
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Gotta do the Zelinsky
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Debbie gave me this map, too
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Perceptual, maybe but how could this region be
formalized?http//cartophilia.com/blog/uploaded_i
mages/nikeucob-713437.jpg
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Lets 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