We often hear about one “region” or another of space. But what does it mean? Why do people divide space into regions? After all, what is regionalizing?
regionalize it is to divide or classify the geographic space based on specific criteria. As such, I can classify any portion of space into various areas according to a feature I have chosen before.
For example: I will regionalize the area of my house. For this, I will choose my regionalization criteria, which will be: the places where I can play. Thus, the region surrounding the places where I can play includes my bedroom, living room, balcony and backyard. The other region, where I can't play, involves the bathroom, my parents' bedroom and the kitchen. Therefore, we have different regions of the same space, which is my home.
Similarly, it happens with Brazil, for example. The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) chose the geographic position and the currencies policies between the states to create the five regions: North, Northeast, Midwest, Southeast and South.
The map below is a regional division of the Earth based on the division of developed and emerging or underdeveloped countries.
The regionalization of the world between developed and underdeveloped countries
The countries in blue on the map form the region of developed countries, which have the highest rates of human, economic and social development. The countries in red are those considered emerging or underdeveloped, with the worst living conditions among their populations. This division represents one of many possible ways to regionalize the world.
If we think about it, regions don't actually exist in space. They are just creations made to organize and study the characteristics that mark societies and the places where they live. Regionalizing is, therefore, organizing the world and the different places in which we live.
By Me. Rodolfo Alves Pena
