Cambridge in context: Street-network sprawl trends

Cambridge in context

2.42.83.23.6<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
2.42.83.23.6<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
CambridgeOntario (Region)Canada (Country)

The chart above shows SNDi trends for new street additions (left panel) and the entire network (right panel), with Cambridge plotted against Ontario and Canada. All three follow the same trend in new construction, suggesting a shared regional pattern of development. Most recently, Cambridge's incremental SNDi fell from 3.23 to 2.71 between 1991-2005 and 2006-2020. In terms of the aggregate network, Cambridge ranked 12th out of 24 cities in Ontario and 27th out of 54 in Canada as of 2020.

New Street Additions (2006–2020)

SNDi value
2.71
Rank in Canada
13th of 54
Rank in Ontario
9th of 24

Entire Network (Aggregate)

SNDi value
2.74
Rank in Canada
27th of 54
Rank in Ontario
12th of 24

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

What about similarly populated cities?

345<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
345<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
CambridgeThikaBaligawan

In new street additions, Cambridge and Baligawan both built increasingly disconnected streets from 1975 through 1976-1990, then improved, while Thika fluctuated in its street-construction patterns. For the full network, Cambridge and Baligawan both grew more disconnected from 1975 through 1991-2005, then improved, while Thika became progressively more disconnected. Cambridge and Thika have been converging in their street-network character since 1975.