# scarcity (condition)

demand for a resource exceeding the rate at which it enters the window

- Computed level: L16 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: window  ·  Arena: resource

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [enter](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-enter.spatial), [rating](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-rating.evaluation), [resource](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-resource.material), [window](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-window.range)

**Through:** The spatial entry rate of a resource through a window is evaluated, and when demand surpasses it, scarcity emerges as a condition.

**Novel properties:**
- emergent shortfall
- temporal pressure
- spatial gating

## Examples
- In 2022, Sri Lanka's fuel reserves dropped below three days' supply, halting public transport and power generation. *(economics)*
- The Aral Sea shrank by 90% after Soviet irrigation diverted river inflows for cotton farming. *(environment)*
- During the 2021 Suez Canal blockage, 15% of global shipping faced delays, spiking container rates 300%. *(logistics)*

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-scarcity.condition*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-scarcity.condition.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*