Medellín in context: Street-network sprawl trends

Medellin in context

23456<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
23456<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
MedellinAntioquia (Region)Colombia (Country)

The chart above shows SNDi trends for new street additions (left panel) and the entire network (right panel), with Medellín plotted against Antioquia and Colombia. All three follow the same trend in new construction, suggesting a shared regional pattern of development. Most recently, Medellín's incremental SNDi rose from 4.5 to 4.97 between 1991-2005 and 2006-2020. In terms of the aggregate network, Medellín ranked 5th out of 7 cities in Antioquia and 48th out of 83 in Colombia as of 2020.

New Street Additions (2006–2020)

SNDi value
4.97
Rank in Colombia
68th of 83
Rank in Antioquia
6th of 7

Entire Network (Aggregate)

SNDi value
3.0
Rank in Colombia
48th of 83
Rank in Antioquia
5th of 7

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

What about similarly populated cities?

2345<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
2345<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
MedellinBusanDakar

In new street additions, Medellín and Dakar both fluctuated in its street-construction patterns, while Busan built increasingly disconnected streets over time. For the full network, Medellín and Busan both became progressively more disconnected, while Dakar grew more disconnected from 1975 through 1976-1990, then improved. Medellín and Dakar have been growing further apart in their street-network character since 1975.