The article addresses the gap between urban-metabolism assessment and spatial design by developing nine resource-sensitive and community-inclusive archetypes. It treats archetypes as adaptable design instruments rather than fixed models, allowing practitioners to connect resource functions with local forms of collective use.

The authors derive the catalogue from 104 alternative resource-governance systems identified across Latin America and Europe. The framework distinguishes spatial configurations for harvesting, storing, transforming and sharing resources, and three archetypes are tested through design studies in Caracas. The resulting axonometrics and design tools make relationships between flows, governance and public space explicit.

The contribution is significant because it translates system-level evidence into a vocabulary that designers can manipulate, compare and adapt. It also demonstrates how urban-metabolism tools can support environmental justice by combining resource sensitivity with spaces for community organisation and access.