Socio-metabolic profiles of electricity consumption along the rural–urban continuum of Ecuador: Whose energy sovereignty?

摘要: Integrating energy and land use planning for sustainable resilient human settlements requires a Post-Normal science perspective where actors’ views are an essential part of the quality policies assessments. Through qualitative content analysis interviews to diverse actors in Ecuador, we found two broad contrasting narratives on Energy Sovereignty: “Hard” “Soft” path. By using multivariate statistical socio-demographic, electricity consumption variables, derived typology parishes with distinct socio-metabolic profiles along “rural–urban” continuum Ecuador. Four different types eight subtypes spatially organize by processes suburbanization, functional urban specialization “new ruralities” or “rural multifunctionality”. Urban centers tend specialize service industrial sectors while suburban intermediate cities, remote rural areas, dynamic towns be residential agrarian. Suburban cities periurban mosaics uses activities “rural” “urban” intertwine. Looking at these results from found, see how centralized grids large-scale hydropower through path can sustain uneven patterns consumption. Contrastingly, under path, distributed generation could provide opportunities multiple small-scale projects renewable sources. This help facing heterogeneity enabling conditions industrialization, instead traditional ways that reproduce development.