Tokyo in context: Street-network sprawl trends

Tokyo in context

2.12.42.7<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
2.12.42.7<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
TokyoSaitama (Region)Japan (Country)

The chart above shows SNDi trends for new street additions (left panel) and the entire network (right panel), with Tokyo plotted against Saitama and Japan. All three follow the same trend in new construction, suggesting a shared regional pattern of development. Most recently, Tokyo's incremental SNDi rose from 2.62 to 2.63 between 1991-2005 and 2006-2020. In terms of the aggregate network, Tokyo ranked 4th out of 5 cities in Saitama and 49th out of 135 in Japan as of 2020.

New Street Additions (2006–2020)

SNDi value
2.63
Rank in Japan
69th of 135
Rank in Saitama
5th of 5

Entire Network (Aggregate)

SNDi value
2.11
Rank in Japan
49th of 135
Rank in Saitama
4th of 5

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

What about similarly populated cities?

246<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
246<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
TokyoJakartaDhaka

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