Kolkata in context: Street-network sprawl trends

Kolkata in context

3.54.24.95.6<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
3.54.24.95.6<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
KolkataWest Bengal (Region)India (Country)

The chart above shows SNDi trends for new street additions (left panel) and the entire network (right panel), with Kolkata plotted against West Bengal and India. All three follow the same trend in new construction, suggesting a shared regional pattern of development. Most recently, Kolkata's incremental SNDi rose from 4.94 to 5.67 between 1991-2005 and 2006-2020. In terms of the aggregate network, Kolkata ranked 68th out of 140 cities in West Bengal and 1421st out of 1868 in India as of 2020.

New Street Additions (2006–2020)

SNDi value
5.67
Rank in India
1274th of 1868
Rank in West Bengal
47th of 140

Entire Network (Aggregate)

SNDi value
4.79
Rank in India
1421st of 1868
Rank in West Bengal
68th of 140

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

What about similarly populated cities?

23456<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
23456<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
KolkataManilaSeoul

Kolkata, Manila, and Seoul all fluctuated in its street-construction patterns in new street construction. The same pattern holds for the full street network. Kolkata and Manila have been growing further apart in their street-network character since 1975.