Assignment #1
GEOG 5, Winter 2023
Place Perceptions and Perceptual Regions of California
Due before section in Week 3
The concept of “regions” is used to identify and organize areas of the earth’s surface that share
some property or properties of interest. Perceptual regions (also called cognitive regions by
geographers) are based on people’s perceptions and beliefs about the world around them.
Perceptual regions are, by definition, the ideas of places that exist in peoples’ minds. These
ideas may or may not match up with the reality that you would see on a map or if you spent a
long time observing a region and its people. Perceptual regions typically have vague or
imprecise boundaries, and some places are considered “better” examples of the region than
other places, even though both places are within the region. The place that best represents the
region may be called the region’s core. The core may or may not be near the spatial center of
the region.
In this assignment, you will delineate some perceptual regions within California. You will also
list some of the ideas or images that you associate with the different regions. There are no
right or wrong answers.
Options for completing this assignment online:
This assignment involves a map of California (see below). For activities related to the California
map, there are several options for completing the assigned tasks:
1. Print out the map, draw on the map by hand, and scan or take a picture of the map with
a phone and upload with your assignment answers.
2. Use MS Word drawing tools to complete map activities. Save the document as a PDF
and upload with your assignment answers.
3. Use a PDF editor to draw and write on the map. Save the pdf and upload it with your
assignment answers.
4. Draw your own map of California on a piece of paper and complete the activities on
your hand-drawn map. Scan or take a picture of the map with a phone and convert it to
a pdf.
5. Use any other tool that you need to complete the assignment, so long as you can
convert the final product to a PDF and upload to Gauchospace.
Part I (15 points)
1. On the outline map of California, draw a line separating “Southern California” from
“Northern California” (not necessarily a straight line). (1 pt)
2. Put a dot or a small circle within each of the two regions to show where you think the
core of each region is. (See the introductory paragraph above for the definition of a
region’s core.) Make sure to label this dot as the core on the map (include the place
name). (1 pt)
3. What comes to mind when you think of Southern California? In other words, what
characteristics do you associate with the region? List as many characteristics as you can
(at least 5). These could be natural or built features, climate conditions, human
activities, cultural practices, housing styles, common attitudes, feelings, representative
images, sounds, smells, or anything else. (4 pts)
4. Complete the same exercise as in #3 but for Northern California. (4 pts)
5. On the same map, add two lines to show the boundaries of the area that you consider
to be “Central California”. Use a dashed line or a line of another color. Indicate the core
of Central California. Answer the following questions:
a. Does Central California overlap more with Southern or Northern California?
b. Was it easier or harder to decide where to put the boundary and core for this
region than for the first two?
c. Does adding Central California change what you think of as Southern and
Northern California? How?
d. Are there characteristics of Central California that come to mind that are
different than either Southern or Northern? What are they? (5 pts)
Part II (10 points)
1. Conduct an internet search to find 12 images of Isla Vista, Goleta, Santa Barbara, or the
surrounding region. (Note: Images that are “postcard-like” will work best for this
activity.) Copy and paste the images into this assignment. For each image, type one
word or a short phrase next to or below the image that summarizes the content of the
image. The images should be varied enough that the single word or phrase for each
image is different. Your themes should include abstract “feelings” or qualities of
“ambience,” not just concrete objects and scenes. (6 pts)
2. Identify common or overlapping themes for your 12 images. What are the common
themes? (2 pts)
3. How well do these themes represent your idea or image of the Santa Barbara region?
That is, do the online images overemphasize some things about Santa Barbara? Do they
leave out some things you think are important? (2 pts)
To turn in on Gauchospace, due by the start of your section time in Week 3:
1. Your California map, with all three perceptual regions and cores marked.
2. Your answers to all of the other questions above, including the 12 online images and
their themes.
California
