Complementary Perspectives as a Means of Understanding Regional Change: Frontier Settlement in the Ecuador Amazon

Abstract

Illustrated in this paper is a research protocol wherein regional change in the Ecuador Amazon, measured in terms of changing settlement patterns, is explored from three distinct but complementary vantage points—idiographic, context-dependent generalizations, and universally applicable frameworks. All analyses are anchored to the study area itself; the region's ground-level reality plays a prominent role throughout; and the Amazon as a place is the object of study. The more universal the explanation, the less information it provides about the Ecuador Amazon per se; but each conceptualization illuminates a distinct aspect of the Amazon experience. A comprehensive understanding is the end result. The research protocol is situated within current concerns over place, the new regional geography, and related research strategies.