GD4103 Environmental Geography

REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY
Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata, ST., MSi
Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
OUTLINE
 Geography: The
discipline
 Geographic Realms
 Transition Zones
 Regions
 Cultural Geography

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
GEOGRAPHY
From the Greek “Geo” (the world) and
“Graphos” (to write about or to describe)
GEOGRAPHY
 Studies the location and
distribution of features
on the Earth’s surface.
Answers where and why
 Divided into: Physical &
Human
 Studies human activity,
the natural environment,
and the relationship
between the two
Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata
Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
GEOGRAPHIC REALM
The largest geographic units into which the
inhabited world can be divided
Geographic Realm
 Realm
 A community or territory
over which a sovereign
rules; a kingdom
 A field, sphere, or province
 Geographic Realm
Defined in terms of a
composite of its leading
cultural, economic, historical,
political, and appropriate
environmental features

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
World Geographic Realm

Geographic
realms change
over time

Transition
Zones are
where
geographic
realms meet,
It is not a
sharp
boundaries

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
Transition Zone
 An area of spatial
change where
peripheries of two
adjacent realms or
regions join
 Marked by a gradual
shift (rather than a
sharp break) in the
characteristics that
distinguish neighboring
realms
Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata
Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
GEOGRAPHICAL CLASSIFICATION

The World Region

Realm
Concept of Scale!
REGIONS
areas of similar characteristics
REGION
 Marked by a certain
degree of
homogeneity
(sameness) in one or
more phenomena
 Also called a uniform
region or
homogeneous region

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
REGION
Scientific devices that
enable us to make
spatial generalizations
 Based on criteria we
establish, which can be:
 Spatial
 Physical
 Cultural
 Economic
Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata
Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
REGION
 All regions have
 Area

 Boundaries

 Location

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
REGION
 Formal regions
areas in which a certain
characteristic is found
throughout them.
 Functional regions
consist of a central place
and the surrounding places
affected by it.
 Perceptual regions
defined by people’s
attitudes and feelings
about areas.
Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata
Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
FORMAL REGION : POLITICAL
Areas in which a certain
characteristic is found
throughout them.
 Political units: where all
people are subject to
same laws and
government.
 Examples are:

 Countries
 Provinces/States

 Cities

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
FORMAL REGION: RELIGIOUS
 The Islamic World
(Southwest Asia, North
Africa, Central Asia,
Pakistan, Bangladesh,
Indonesia.
 Buddhism (Southeast
Asia: Thailand, Vietnam,
Cambodia, Laos,
Myanmar, Malaysia,
parts of China, Korea,
and Japan)
Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata
Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
FORMAL REGION: ETHNIC TOWN
 Many large cities
around the world have
neighborhoods
composed of different
ethnic groups because
people want to live near
people who are similar.
 Chinatowns are an
example of a region
based on culture.
Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata
Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
FUNCTIONAL REGION
 consist of a central
place and the
surrounding places
affected by it.
 often linked by the
flow or movement of
something
 i.e. Jakarta
Metropolitan Area =
linked by highways
Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata
Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
BROMO-SEMERU HIGHLAND
 The Bromo-Semeru
Mountains and
surrounding highlands
are a functional region

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
AMAZON RIVER DRAINAGE BASIN
 “Basin” - Bowl or dish-
shaped geographic
feature. Water runs to
and settles in the
middle
 Amazon River Basin
> 2000 mm rain/yr.,
> 27 ºC constant
temperatures
Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata
Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
PERCEPTUAL REGION
are defined by
people’s attitudes and
feelings about areas.
 Sometimes called
“vernacular” regions
May vary by


individual perceptions

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
WORLD CITIES
 Paris, City of Lights
 Jerusalem, the Holy City
 Sydney, the Harbour
City
 Cairo, City of a
Thousand Minarets
 Tibet, the Roof Top of
the World
 Bandung, City of Flower
Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata
Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
PERCEPTUAL REGION
What is your perception about:
 Mecca
 Texas
 Singapore
 Jakarta
 Papua
 Fisherman Villages in Indonesia

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
A wide-ranging and comprehensive field that
studies spatial aspects of human cultures
CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
 Culture
Shared patterns of
learned behavior
 Components
 Beliefs

 Institutions

 Technology

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY
Major Components
 Cultural Landscapes
 Culture Hearths
 Cultural Diffusion
 Cultural Environments
 Cultural Regions

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
CULTURAL LANDSCAPES
 The composite of human
imprints on the earth’s
surface.
 Carl Sauer’s definition:
“the forms superimposed
on the physical
landscape by the
activities of man”
 Take many shapes both
in tangible and
intangible form
Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata
Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
CULTURAL LANDSCAPES
Tangible Forms
 Agricultural Tenure
 Buildings

 Signs

 Roads

 Artworks

 Places of Worship

 Architecture

 Statues

 Food
 Etc.

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
CULTURAL LANDSCAPES
Intangible Form
 Language

 Sounds

 Music

 Smells

 Safety and

Comfortable Feeling
 Etc.

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
CULTURAL HEARTS

The source
areas from
which
radiated
ideas,
innovations,
and
ideologies
that changed
the world
beyond

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
CULTURAL DIFFUSION

Process during
which a
culture/
religion
spread to new
areas

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
CULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS
 The cultural and social
aspect of a given
society from its very
nature
 It is the people who
surround us, their
norms and beliefs that
make the cultural
environment
 e.g. Kampung Naga

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
CULTURAL REGIONS
 An area that has
common cultural
customs and beliefs
 Cultural regions can
be based on many
things such as religion,
language, architecture,
food, and much more

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
CULTURAL REGIONS

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY
The study of the interaction of
geographical area and political
process
POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY
 A subfield within the
human branch of
geography
 The study of the
interaction of
geographical area
and political process
 The spatial analysis of
political phenomena
and processes
Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata
Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY
 Must a nation be a
place?
 Some examples of
stateless nations:
 the Cherokee Nation
 the Kurds
 the Palestinians

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
Dr. rer. nat. Wiwin Windupranata
Hydrographic Science and Engineering Research Division
Faculty of Earth Science and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY
 State
A politically organized
territory
 Administered by a
sovereign government
 Recognized by a
significant portion of
the international
community.

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY
 A state must also
contain:
a permanent resident
population
 an organized economy
a functioning internal
circulation
 system

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY
A country whose
population possesses a
substantial degree of
cultural homogeneity and
unity
Classic Example of a
Nation-State: Japan

Dr.rer.nat. Wiwin Windupranata

Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology
Bandung Institute of Technology
THE END
Thank You!