Beyond Red & Blue: America’s 10 political regions redefined:
“Beyond Red & Blue” was conceived about four years ago, in anticipation of the 2004 presidential election. The idea was to divide the United States into 10 regions of equal voting power, each with a distinct history and political bent.
I have recommended the Nine Nations book to people for ages now, since I found it to be a pretty convincing way to understand the continent. I’m not sure I see how this map works: is the Spanish-speaking population of the Southwest really considered a bloc with the Spanish-speakers in So Florida? They do come from different places, after all.
I understand that it’s a political map but I’m not sure I understand the breakout of regions all that well. It’s really just a gerrymander.
I can agree with the western version of the Upper Coasts, as it maps well to the Ecotopia nation from Nine Nations (and I live there, so it’s home). But do the sons of the pioneers out here really share all the much with the sons of the Mayflower back east? This area was settled by Midwesterners, in large part, perhaps explaining why it went with the Union in the War of Southern Secession.
I think the idea of geographically coherent regions that share political and cultural interests makes more sense to me: lumping people together seems counterproductive.