1. Regions!

2. Unit 4: UEQ
How did conflict and competition between the U.S. and USSR change the political landscape in the postwar world?
To answer this we have to consider the following…
What extent are regional boundaries permanent? What might cause them to change over time?

3. Regions Just as all people are unique, so are places
Regions have been developed to simplify an understanding of places
Unlike places, they do not exist; they are a construct or concept
Defined as an area of the earth’s surface enclosing places that have some common characteristic
i.e. climate, agriculture, politics, ethnicity

4. Regions are a product of your mind…
But, they can’t exist without boundaries…

5. Formal Boundaries
Precisely drawn lines of separation often following survey lines or lines of latitude and longitude
i.e. European colonies in Africa

9. Functional Regions Boundaries exist where a region’s influence ends
Often arbitrary – at what point is the region’s influence sufficiently diminished?
Theissen Polygons help to place a boundary at the mid-point between the two regional centers (see handout)

10. Hmm…
How can we relate the use of Theissen Polygons to sports???

13. Using Regions to Solve Problems
Regions can help solve problems in society
For example, knowing the location of hospitals relative to the population can identify areas poorly served

15. Are regions permanent?
NO. That factors that created them may change over time.
i.e. Native American tribes before and after European settlement

18. How does this relate to the Cold War?
The globe was divided into political regions – Democracy & Capitalism vs. Communism.
For example, the Iron Curtain in Europe
Our new unit focuses on this political division.