19.10.2021. Full Lecture - Evolution of Regional Geography

Evolution of the concept of region (I)
Paasi, A., Harrison, J. and Jones, M. (2018). Handbook on the Geographies of Regions and
Territories. Cheltenham, UK, Northampton, USA: Edward Elgar
• five distinct chronological phases
• by no means been an undisputed, straightforward

evolutionary trajectory
• conceptual developments never occur in vacuo but in

relation to wider economic and structural developments,
societal interests of knowledge, and general philosophical
and methodological developments
Evolution of the concept of region (II)
1. Traditional Regional Geography 19th c. – early 20th c.
2. Regional Science 1950s-1960s – 1980
3. New Regional Geography 1980 – ongoing
4. New Regionalism 1990s – regions in globalisation
5. New Regional Worlds

1. Traditional Regional Geography
19th c. – early 20th c. (I)
• the ‘classical’ period of regional geography
• during this period, regional geography was the crown of the geography
discipline – the critical backbone for its academic identity
• focus on acquiring regionally specific geographical knowledge
• surveying and mapping the features of various areas
• important in the nation-building processes of many emerging national
states
• distinct regions at various scales – e.g. ‘climatic regions’ (Herbertson,
1902), ‘paysages’ (regional landscapes) or ‘genres de vie’ (regional
lifestyles) (Vidal de la Blache, 1918) or ‘human regions’ (Fleure, 1919)
Alfred Hettner
(1859, Dresden- 1941, Heidelberg)
• He mainly published in Geographische Zeitung (“Geographical Journal”),

first published in 1899.
• Grundzüge der Länderkunde (“Foundations of Regional Geography”, vol.
1, in 1907, vol. 2, in 1924) (Europe and other regions of the world).
• Vergleichende Länderkunde, 4 vol. (1933–35; “Comparative Regional
Geography”).
• Handbuch der Geographischen Wissenschaft, 11 vol. (“Handbook of
Geographical Science”), completed in 1940.
• The study of local/regional differences in phenomena over the Earth’s
surface
1. Traditional Regional Geography
19th c. – early 20th c. (II)
• R. Hartshorne (1939) proposed a more elaborate, all-encompassing,

regional geography of ‘areal differentiation’, which was based on the
synthesis of all types of regional knowledge.
the Earth’s surface subdivided into distinct unit areas

2. Regional Science
1950s-1960s – 1980 (I)
• 1950s-1960s - the birth of Regional Science
• Regional Science killed off traditional regional geography as an idiographic

discipline, arguing instead for a nomothetic (law-producing) approach
(economics, geography and planning)
• a quest to identify general (‘scientific’) laws to explain spatial behaviour
• Seminal books: by Walter Isard (1960), Methods of Regional Analysis and Peter
Haggett (1965), Locational Analysis in Human Geography
2. Regional Science
1950s-1960s – 1980 (II)
• Regions continued to be ‘one of the most logical and satisfactory ways of organizing
geographic information’ (Haggett 1965, p. 241).
• questions such as how to discover regions, how to define regions, and how to describe
regions
• regions were typically considered static and bounded territorial units
• R. Minshull (1967, p. 13) observed the region was either a ‘mental device’ (formal
region) needed in research or a ‘real entity’ (functional region). - the divide between
mental device and real entities was simply false
3. New Regional Geography
1980 – ongoing (I)
• regions are produced and transformed through various forms of agency

• Regions must be understood as social constructs based on social
practice and discourse, and this is the real basis to evaluate their roles
and functions
• Contribution: it changed the attitude towards regions from focusing on
regions themselves, to social practices through which regions are
constructed, gain their meanings, are reproduced, and ultimately
destroyed or abandoned as part of wider socio-spatial transformations
1980 – ongoing (II)
To discuss!
One cannot study everything, and there are always multiple ways of seeing a
place: there is no complete “portrait of a region”. Moreover, “regions” only exist
in relation to particular criteria. They are not “out there” waiting to be
discovered; they are our (and others’) constructions (Allen et al., 1998, p. 2)
The new regional geography taught us, regions are not out there waiting to be
found; instead there are different ways of seeing ‘the region’ and their making
such that it is more fruitful to talk about the ‘geographies of regions’ than a
distinct ‘regional geography’ (Paasi, Harris, Jones, 2018, p. 5).
1980 – ongoing (III)
Regions are increasingly ‘invented’ in planning offices and political

decision-making processes, thus moving from loose ideas to wider, often
normative discourses, then appearing in maps and ultimately shaping
wider spatial politics.
What are old regions and new regions?
‘Old’ refers to regions which are territorially embedded, historical,

established parts of planning and governance (e.g. UK regions, German
Länder), and ‘new’ identifies typically ad hoc, project-based regions
operating across less-determinate geographies, often aimed at developing
or increasing the competitiveness of the region (Paasi, 2009).
As John Agnew argues, it is necessary to match ‘regions’ to particular

purposes (and by implication focusing on particular sets of relations
across space in different cases) rather than seeking to identify a ‘singular’
conception of regions (Agnew 2013, quoted in Cochrane, 2018, p. 84).
1980 – ongoing (IV)
• Integral to the new regional geography was the combination of space and time.
This theory abstracted four stages of mutually constituting, reciprocal and recursive processes through
which regions become institutionalized as a recognizable ‘territorial unit’ and spatial division of
society:
(1) territorial shaping: the formation of boundaries, which can vary from ‘soft’ to ‘hard’, practically
open and insignificant to more or less closed;
(2) symbolic shaping: the invention of power-laden cultural signifiers (naming, traditions,
memorabilia) and narratives to develop a collective identity, differentiating what is internal from
that which is external;
(3) institutional shaping: the creation of vehicles or mechanisms, both formal and informal, to embed
and entrench these processes;
(4) region established: the institutionalization of a region as a territorial unit in the spatial matrix and
social consciousness of society, accompanying the de-institutionalization of some other regional –
or other spatial – unit(s) (Paasi, 1986).
4. New Regionalism
1990s … – regions in globalisation
Learning from the experiences of Silicon Valley (United States), Baden-

Württemberg (Germany), and south-east England, among others, the
economic logic drew on theories of agglomeration to explain why regions
were emerging as competitive territories par excellence in this new era
of globally oriented reflexive capitalism (Storper 1997).
Information sharing and networking were seen to be replacing market-

based competition
Regions – defined as localized economic agglomerations

5. New Regional Worlds (I)
• Most recently, debate has centred on transitioning away from any one
singular reading of region and territory, recognizing that these terms –
as with most scientific terms – are perpetually transforming and subject
to a growing plurality of philosophical, conceptual and methodological
approaches in how they are developed, deployed and debated (Paasi,
Harris, Jones, 2018, p. 5).
5. New Regional Worlds (II)
New categories of regions are doing much to broaden:

• the spatial (city-region, cross-border region, megaregion, panregional,
polycentric region),
• the economic (learning region, competitive region, creative region,
resilient region),
• the political (NUTS regions, supranational regions, geopolitical regions)
and
• the environmental (sustainable region, bioregion) debate (see Table
1.1). (Paasi, Harris, Jones, 2018, pp. 5-6).
• Herbertson, A. (1902). Man and His Work. London: A & C Black.
• Vidal de la Blache, P. (1918). Principles of Human Geography, translated in

New York: Holt & Co (1926).
• Fleure, H.-J. (1919). Human Geography in Western Europe: A Study in

Appreciation. London: Williams and Norgate.
• Hartshorne, R. (1939). The Nature of Geography – A Critical Survey of Current

Thought in the Light of the Past. Lancaster, PA: Association of American
Some key
Geographers.
• Keating, M. (ed.) (2004). Regions and Regionalism in Europe. Cheltenham, UK
works for all and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing.
• Entrikin, J.N. (ed.) (2008). Regions – Critical Essays in Human Geography.
5 stages London: Routledge.
• Jones, M. and A. Paasi (eds) (2015). Regional Worlds: Advancing the

Geography of Regions. London: Routledge.
• Riding, J. and M. Jones (eds) (2017). Reanimating Regions: Culture, Politics,

and Performance. London: Routledge.
• Paasi, A., Harrison, J. and Jones, M. (2018). Handbook on the Geographies of

Regions and Territories. Cheltenham, UK, Northampton, USA: Edward Elgar.

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Evolution of the concept of region (I)

• five distinct chronological phases

• by no means been an undisputed, straightforward

• conceptual developments never occur in vacuo but in

1. Traditional Regional Geography 19th c. – early 20th c.

2. Regional Science 1950s-1960s – 1980

3. New Regional Geography 1980 – ongoing

4. New Regionalism 1990s – regions in globalisation

5. New Regional Worlds

• He mainly published in Geographische Zeitung (“Geographical Journal”),

• R. Hartshorne (1939) proposed a more elaborate, all-encompassing,

the Earth’s surface subdivided into distinct unit areas

• 1950s-1960s - the birth of Regional Science

• Regional Science killed off traditional regional geography as an idiographic

• a quest to identify general (‘scientific’) laws to explain spatial behaviour

• regions were typically considered static and bounded territorial units

• regions are produced and transformed through various forms of agency

Regions are increasingly ‘invented’ in planning offices and political

‘Old’ refers to regions which are territorially embedded, historical,

As John Agnew argues, it is necessary to match ‘regions’ to particular

Learning from the experiences of Silicon Valley (United States), Baden-

Information sharing and networking were seen to be replacing market-

Regions – defined as localized economic agglomerations

New categories of regions are doing much to broaden:

• Vidal de la Blache, P. (1918). Principles of Human Geography, translated in

• Fleure, H.-J. (1919). Human Geography in Western Europe: A Study in

• Hartshorne, R. (1939). The Nature of Geography – A Critical Survey of Current

• Keating, M. (ed.) (2004). Regions and Regionalism in Europe. Cheltenham, UK

• Entrikin, J.N. (ed.) (2008). Regions – Critical Essays in Human Geography.

5 stages London: Routledge.

• Jones, M. and A. Paasi (eds) (2015). Regional Worlds: Advancing the

• Riding, J. and M. Jones (eds) (2017). Reanimating Regions: Culture, Politics,

• Paasi, A., Harrison, J. and Jones, M. (2018). Handbook on the Geographies of

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