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Regional geography
 
 
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Regional geography is a study of regions throughout the world in order to understand or define the unique characteristics of a particular region which consists of natural as well as human elements. Attention is paid also to regionalization which covers the techniques of space delineation into region
Region

Region is a geographical term that is used in various ways among the different branches of geography. In general, a region is a medium-scale area of land or water, smaller than the whole areas of interest , and larger than a specific site A region may be seen as a collection of smaller units or as one part of a larger whole ....
s.

Regional geography is also considered as a certain bagpipe to study in geographical sciences (similar to quantitative geography
Quantitative revolution

The quantitative revolution was one of the four major turning points in the history of geography . The quantitative revolution occurred during the 1950s and 1960s and marked a rapid change in the method behind geographical research....
 or bunch of critical geographies
Critical geography

The development of critical geography can be seen as one of the four major turning points in the history of geography . Though post-positivist approaches remain important in geography the critical geography arose as a critique of positivism introduced by quantitative revolution....
).






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Regional geography is a study of regions throughout the world in order to understand or define the unique characteristics of a particular region which consists of natural as well as human elements. Attention is paid also to regionalization which covers the techniques of space delineation into region
Region

Region is a geographical term that is used in various ways among the different branches of geography. In general, a region is a medium-scale area of land or water, smaller than the whole areas of interest , and larger than a specific site A region may be seen as a collection of smaller units or as one part of a larger whole ....
s.

Regional geography is also considered as a certain bagpipe to study in geographical sciences (similar to quantitative geography
Quantitative revolution

The quantitative revolution was one of the four major turning points in the history of geography . The quantitative revolution occurred during the 1950s and 1960s and marked a rapid change in the method behind geographical research....
 or bunch of critical geographies
Critical geography

The development of critical geography can be seen as one of the four major turning points in the history of geography . Though post-positivist approaches remain important in geography the critical geography arose as a critique of positivism introduced by quantitative revolution....
). This approach to study was prevailing during the second half of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century also known as a period of prevailing regional geography paradigm when regional geography took the central position in geographical sciences. It was later criticised for its descriptiveness and the lack of theory (regional geography as an empirical approach of geographical sciences). Massive criticism was leveled against this approach in the fifties and during the quantitative revolution
Quantitative revolution

The quantitative revolution was one of the four major turning points in the history of geography . The quantitative revolution occurred during the 1950s and 1960s and marked a rapid change in the method behind geographical research....
. Main critics were Kimble and Schaefer
Fred K. Schaefer

Fred K. Schaefer was a geography. He is considered as one of the pioneers of quantitative revolution....
.

Regional geography paradigm has had impact on many geographical sciences (see regional economic geography
Economic geography

Economic geography is the study of the location, distribution and spatial organization of economic activities across the Earth. The subject matter investigated is strongly influenced by the researcher's methodological approach....
 or regional geomorphology
Geomorphology

Geomorphology is the scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them. Geomorphologists seek to understand why landscapes look the way they do: to understand landform history and dynamics, and predict future changes through a combination of field observation, physical experiment, and numerical mathematical model....
). Today's regional geography is still thought in some universities as study of the major regions of the world, such as Northern and Latin America, Europe, and Asia and their countries. In addition, the notion of a city-regional approach to the study of geography gained some credence in the mid-1990s after works by people such as Saskia Sassen
Saskia Sassen

Saskia Sassen is an United States sociology noted for her analyses of globalization and international human migration. She is currently a professor of sociology at Columbia University and at the London School of Economics....
, although it was also criticized, for example by Peter Storper.

Notable regional geographers were Alfred Hettner
Alfred Hettner

Alfred Hettner was a Germany geographer.He is known for his concept of chorology, the study of places and regions....
 from Germany with his concept of chorology
Chorology

Chorology can mean* the study of the causal relations between geography phenomena occurring within a particular region* the study of the spatial distribution of organisms....
, Vidal de la Blache from France with the possibilism
Possibilism (geography)

Possibilism in cultural geography is the theory that the environment sets certain constraints or limitations, but culture is otherwise determined by man's actions....
 approach (possibilism as a softer notion of environmental determinism
Environmental determinism

Environmental determinism, also known as climatic determinism or geographical determinism, is the view that the physical environment, rather than social conditions, determines culture....
) and United States geographer Richard Hartshorne
Richard Hartshorne

Richard Hartshorne , was a prominent United States geographer. He completed his undergraduate studies at Princeton University He died of cancer at his home in Madison, Wisconsin....
 with his areal differentiation concept.

Some geographers have also attempted to reintroduce a certain amount of regionalism since the 1980s. This involves a complex definition of region
Region

Region is a geographical term that is used in various ways among the different branches of geography. In general, a region is a medium-scale area of land or water, smaller than the whole areas of interest , and larger than a specific site A region may be seen as a collection of smaller units or as one part of a larger whole ....
s and their interactions with other scale
Scale (spatial)

Spatial scale provides a "shorthand" form for discussing relative lengths, areas, distances and sizes. A microclimate, for instance, is one which might occur in a mountain valley or near a lakeshore, whereas a megatrend is one which involves the whole planet....
s.

See also