REGION

A region is an area of land that has common features.

A region can be defined by natural or artificial features. Language, government, or religion can define a region, as can forests, wildlife, or climate. Regions, large or small, are the basic units of geography.

Geographers refer to 3 TYPES of regions.

Formal Regions

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Formal Regions are defined by official boundaries. They can be as large as continents or as small as a neighborhood. All formal regions are easily measurable.

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FUNCTIONAL REGION

Functional region is an area organized around a central hub or focal point. These regions often overlap formal regions and each other.

A metropolitan area is a good example of a functional region, where the central hub is the innermost part which is densely populated and has a high number of industries offering employment. This hub is connected to its surrounding regions by communication pathways, trade, and transport routes, as people undertake daily commutes to reach their place of employment in the central hub.

New York City

Los Angeles

Northeastern

United States

Ports can serve as the focal point of a larger functional region along the coast. The central hub is interlinked to the other areas in the functional region by transport, communication, and trade routes.

Schools form the nodal point which draws students from different parts of a community, thus interlinking these areas. Since the students have to commute to school daily, the central hub is connected to the surrounding areas by transportation routes.

PERCEPTUTAL OR VERNACULAR REGION

An area of subjective perceptions that reflect the feelings & images about key place characteristics.

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These areas are loosely defined by linguistic accents or sayings, positive and negative stereotypes, and reflect real or imagined image of the place. A place people are likely to consider part of their identity.

These areas have no strict boundaries and are constantly changing.

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