Persistent efficiency-equity mismatches in EV infrastructure planning: A multi-scale spatial consistency analysis

Electric vehicle charging station (EVCS) planning is a critical priority for sustainable mobility, yet efficiency-driven and equity-driven allocation models are often developed in isolation. This study investigates the spatial consistency between these two paradigms across the trajectory of EV adoption stages. We introduce a multi-scale consistency framework to examine alignment from nascent to near-saturated stages of electrification using two U.S. cities as case studies. Results identify a paradox of surface convergence where aggregate city-wide coverage overlap reaches saturation rapidly, suggesting that systemic efficiency can provide unintentional social benefits by meeting baseline accessibility. However, persistent micro-scale mismatches endure in 20-50% of block groups. These mismatches indicate a socio-spatial expression of the structural efficiency-equity tension between the city as a living habitat and the city as a flow system. This divergence is moderated by urban scale, where metropolitan systems exhibit delayed saturation and require more deliberate planning to overcome urban complexity. Spatially, gaps cluster in the urban fringe and inner regions. The periphery lacks the spatial inertia of the core, making its infrastructure future highly dependent on the prioritized planning logic, while the inner urban zone exists in a state of precarious adequacy sensitive to policy threshold shifts. The findings demonstrate that increasing EVCS alone cannot reconcile these tensions, necessitating integrated approaches that address path-dependent spatial exclusion to ensure the transition is both technically efficient and socially inclusive.