FC-16 - Area and Region

You are currently viewing an archived version of Topic Area and Region. If updates or revisions have been published you can find them at Area and Region.

Author and Citation Info: 

This Topic is also available in the following editions: 

DiBiase, D., DeMers, M., Johnson, A., Kemp, K., Luck, A. T., Plewe, B., and Wentz, E. (2006). Area. The Geographic Information Science & Technology Body of Knowledge. Washington, DC: Association of American Geographers. (2nd Quarter 2016, first digital).

DiBiase, D., DeMers, M., Johnson, A., Kemp, K., Luck, A. T., Plewe, B., and Wentz, E. (2006). Region. The Geographic Information Science & Technology Body of Knowledge. Washington, DC: Association of American Geographers. (2nd Quarter 2016, first digital).

Learning Objectives: 
  • List reasons why the area of a polygon calculated in a GIS might not be the same as the real world object it describes
  • Demonstrate how the area of a region calculated from a raster data set will vary by resolution and orientation
  • Outline an algorithm to find the area of a polygon using the coordinates of its vertices
  • Explain how variations in the calculation of area may have real world implications, such as calculating density
  • Delineate regions using properties, spatial relationships, and geospatial technologies
  • Exemplify regions found at different scales
  • Explain the relationship between regions and categories
  • Identify the kinds of phenomena commonly found at the boundaries of regions
  • Explain why general-purpose regions rarely exist
  • Differentiate among different types of regions, including functional, cultural, physical, administrative, and others
  • Compare and contrast the opportunities and pitfalls of using regions to aggregate geographic information (e.g., census data)
  • Use established analysis methods that are based on the concept of region (e.g., landscape ecology)
  • Explain the nature of the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP)