The geography of regional websites: regional representation and regional structure

Abstract

Regional administrations present themselves in many different ways on the internet. A content analysis of regional websites in the Netherlands and Northwest Germany revealed this diversity. Geographical factors can partly explain these differences. Mapping the five principal aspects of the geographical representations of regional administrations revealed some spatial clusters. These regional representations are also linked to the geographical characteristics of regions. Competitive mid-sized regions focus more on economic items. Different types of peripheries vary much more in how they present themselves on the internet. The way regions present themselves is linked to the polarising influence of regional competition, but there is still considerable freedom for regions to present a distinct region image