Place and RegionAP Human Geography

Place vs. Region

A place is a point… A region is an area…

How is location of a place identified? 1. Place name (toponym)

Ex. Chicago 2. Site

Physical characteristics of a place Ex. Flat land, fertile soil, Lake Michigan

3. Situation Location of a place relative to other places Ex. In the middle of the country, Northern Illinois, next

to Lake Michigan 4. Mathematical location

Exact location, using latitude and longitude Ex. 41 degrees N Latitude, 87 degrees W Longitude

Regions Cultural Landscape A combination of cultural features that

give a place or region it’s unique character.

How is the cultural landscape of Chicago different than Mumbai, India?

How is the American North different than the South?

Regions can be very large, or pretty small Anglo-America, Eastern Europe, Sub-

Saharan Africa USA, Germany, Cambodia Midwestern US, Southern Mexico, Eastern

China Northern Illinois, the Chicagoland area. Southside of Chicago Roseland The Wild 100’s…

What types of cultural characteristics define a place? Language

Dialect, slang, accent Religion

Denomination Agriculture/ Industry

What is grown or produced? Folk (local) culture

Music, food, art, architecture, fashion Political views

Blue state/ Red state

Types of Regions Formal Region Everyone has one or

more characteristics in common.

Political entities (city, state, country)

What common characteristics to all Illinoisans share?

Types of Regions Functional

Region Area organized

around a node or focal point.

Radio/ TV stations, newspapers, sports teams.

Types of Regions Vernacular/

Perceptual Regions Not scientifically

precise or exact. Instead, people

perceive the existence of vernacular regions.

The South The “Southside”

Key Terms Cultural Ecology

Study of human-environment interaction Environmental Determinism

Physical environment causes social development

Warm weather causes laziness and poor work ethic---> less development

Possibilism Environment may limit some actions, but

humans can adjust.