Mazar i sharif in context: Street-network sprawl trends

Mazar i sharif in context

1.82.73.64.5<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
1.82.73.64.5<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
Mazar i sharifBalkh (Region)Afghanistan (Country)

The chart above shows SNDi trends for new street additions (left panel) and the entire network (right panel), with Mazar i sharif plotted against Balkh and Afghanistan. The SNDi of new construction in Mazar i sharif peaked in 1976-1990, compared to Balkh which peaked in 1976-1990 and Afghanistan which followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase. Most recently, Mazar i sharif's incremental SNDi fell from 2.47 to 2.1 between 1991-2005 and 2006-2020. In terms of the aggregate network, Mazar i sharif ranked 1st out of 3 cities in Balkh and 9th out of 73 in Afghanistan as of 2020.

New Street Additions (2006–2020)

SNDi value
2.1
Rank in Afghanistan
9th of 73
Rank in Balkh
1st of 3

Entire Network (Aggregate)

SNDi value
2.41
Rank in Afghanistan
9th of 73
Rank in Balkh
1st of 3

Rankings go from most connected to most disconnected — rank 1 is the most connected.

What about similarly populated cities?

1.622.42.8<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
1.622.42.8<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
Mazar i sharifOujdaBenghazi

In new street additions, Mazar i sharif and Oujda both built increasingly disconnected streets from 1975 through 1976-1990, then improved, while Benghazi built increasingly disconnected streets over time. For the full network, Mazar i sharif and Oujda both grew more disconnected from 1975 through 1976-1990, then improved, while Benghazi became progressively more disconnected. Mazar i sharif and Benghazi have been converging in their street-network character since 1975.