Toowoomba in context: Street-network sprawl trends

Toowoomba in context

2.73.64.55.4<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
2.73.64.55.4<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
ToowoombaQueensland (Region)Australia (Country)

The chart above shows SNDi trends for new street additions (left panel) and the entire network (right panel), with Toowoomba plotted against Queensland and Australia. All three follow the same trend in new construction, suggesting a shared regional pattern of development. Most recently, Toowoomba's incremental SNDi fell from 3.81 to 3.36 between 1991-2005 and 2006-2020. In terms of the aggregate network, Toowoomba ranked 2nd out of 13 cities in Queensland and 5th out of 35 in Australia as of 2020.

New Street Additions (2006–2020)

SNDi value
3.36
Rank in Australia
14th of 35
Rank in Queensland
3rd of 13

Entire Network (Aggregate)

SNDi value
2.65
Rank in Australia
5th of 35
Rank in Queensland
2nd of 13

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

What about similarly populated cities?

4812<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
4812<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
ToowoombaPuler GhatAtsa

In new street additions, Toowoomba built increasingly disconnected streets from 1975 through 1991-2005, then improved, while Puler Ghat fluctuated in its street-construction patterns and Atsa built increasingly disconnected streets over time. For the full network, Toowoomba and Atsa both became progressively more disconnected, while Puler Ghat fluctuated in connectivity. Toowoomba and Atsa have been growing further apart in their street-network character since 1975.