Regional Geography
Regional geography is a branch of geography that studies the world's regions. A region itself is
defined as a part of the Earth's surface with one or many similar characteristics that make it unique
from other areas. Regional geography studies the specific unique characteristics of places related
to their culture, economy, topography, climate, politics and environmental factors such as their
different species of flora and fauna.
Also, regional geography also studies the specific boundaries between places. Often these are
called transition zones which represent the start and end of a specific region and can be large or
small. For example, the transition zone between Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa is rather
large because there is mixing between the two regions. Regional geographers study this zone as
well as the distinct characteristics of Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa.
Regional geography is additionally a precise approach to geographic study, such as quantitative
geography or crucial geography. This approach prevailed throughout the last half of the nineteenth
century and therefore the half of the twentieth century, an amount once then regional geography
paradigm was central at intervals the geographical sciences. It was later criticized for its
descriptiveness and therefore the lack of theory. Sturdy criticism was leveled against it particularly
throughout the Nineteen Fifties and therefore the quantitative revolution.
The regional geography paradigm has had an impression on several alternative geographical
sciences, as well as geography and morphology. Regional geography continues to be tutored in
some universities as a study of the key regions of the planet, like Northern and Latin America,
Europe, and Asia and their countries. additionally, the notion of a city-regional approach to the
study of Geographic’s gained some credence within the mid-1990s through the work of
geographers like Saskia Sassen, though it absolutely was conjointly criticized.
History and Development of Regional Geography
Although people had been studying specific regions for decades, regional geography as a branch
in geography has its roots in Europe, specifically with the French and geographer Paul Vidal de la
Blanche. In the late 19th century, de la Blanche developed his ideas of the milieu, pays, and
possibilisme (or possibilism). The milieu was the natural environment and pays was the country
or local region. Possibilism was the theory that said the environment sets constraints and
limitations on humans but human actions in response to these constraints are what develops a
culture and in this case aids in defining a region. Possibilism later led to the development
of environmental determinism which says the environment (and thus physical regions) is solely
responsible for the development of human culture and societal development.
Regional geography began to develop in the United States specifically and parts of Europe
in the period between World Wars I and II. During this time, geography was criticized for
its descriptive nature with environmental determinism and lack of a specific focus. As a
result, geographers were seeking ways to keep geography as a credible university-level
subject. In the 1920s and 1930s, geography became a regional science concerned with why
certain places are similar and/or different and what enables people to separate one region
from another. This practice became known as areal differentiation.
Regional Geography Today:
Since the 1980s, regional geography has seen a resurgence as a branch of geography in many
universities. Because geographers today often study a wide variety of topics, it is helpful to break
the world down into regions to make information easier to process and display. This can be done
by geographers who claim to be regional geographers and are experts on one or many places across
the world, or by physical, cultural, urban, and biogeographers who have a lot of information to
process about given topics.
Often, many universities today offer specific regional geography courses which give an overview
of the broad topic and others may offer courses related to specific world regions such as Europe,
Asia, and the Middle East, or smaller scale such as "The Geography of California." In each of
these region-specific courses, topics often covered are the physical and climatic attributes of the
region as well as the cultural, economic and political characteristics found there.
Also, some universities today offer specific degrees in regional geography, which normally
consists of general knowledge of the world's regions. A degree in regional geography is useful
for those who want to teach but is also valuable in today's business world that is focused on
overseas and long-distance communications and networking.
NAME- JAMAL MOLLA
PH- 7699945477
