Formalising the concept of region in the spatial semantic hierarchy

Abstract

Regions as spatial units vary greatly in size from micro-regions such as sub-national level regions or cities to continents (regions of the world). Irregardless of size and spatial contiguousness, regions nowadays form networks of regional dependences all over the world. Along with the ongoing processes of globalisation, this causes increasing need for standardised regional terms, which are used more and more often by scientists of various fields. The concept of region was primarily used mostly in the field of geography. Nowadays it remains (along with location, place, human-environmental relations, movement, and human systems) one of the five central geographic themes. Since the 18th century the concept of the region is often used in the contexts of different nature, however with the rise of every new wave of new concepts and categories, the concept of region is reviewed once and once again, adapting it to the changed needs. This happens because the region as a concept is not anymore strictly defined and often becomes a subject for various interpretations. Because of the latter reason most of the foreign authors (Christaller, 1972; Jacobs, 1984; Krugman, 1995; Antikainen, 1997; Keating, 1998; Vartiainen, 1998; Hoover & Giarratani, 1999; Soja, 2000; Schaeffer & Bukenya, 2001; Farrell & Van Langenhove, 2002; and many others), working in different fields, try to define the same Concept of the region, and propose various ways to define regional boundaries as well as different typologies of regions. Regional typologies in the papers by Lithuanian authors (Ribašauskienė, 2000; Deveikis, 2001; Vaitiekūnas, 2001; Bagdzevičienė, Rimas & Venckus, 2002; Melnikas, 2003; Nakrošis, 2003; Burbulytė, 2003; and others) mostly rely on the foreign ones, and are often devoted to the subjects of state and supranational policies with regard to regions defined by the state, but not by their economic interconnectedness[...].