Nairobi in context: Street-network sprawl trends

Nairobi in context

44.555.5<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
44.555.5<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
NairobiKenya (Country)

The chart above shows SNDi trends for new street additions (left panel) and the entire network (right panel), with Nairobi plotted against Kenya. The SNDi of new construction in Nairobi peaked in 1976-1990, while Kenya rose steadily. Most recently, Nairobi's incremental SNDi fell from 5.25 to 4.63 between 1991-2005 and 2006-2020. In terms of the aggregate network, Nairobi ranked 38th out of 45 in Kenya as of 2020.

New Street Additions (2006–2020)

SNDi value
4.63
Rank in Kenya
24th of 45

Entire Network (Aggregate)

SNDi value
5.03
Rank in Kenya
38th of 45

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

What about similarly populated cities?

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
NairobiAccraAmman

While Accra and Amman both fluctuated in its street-construction patterns, Nairobi built increasingly disconnected streets from 1975 through 1976-1990, then improved in new street additions. For the full network, Nairobi grew more disconnected from 1975 through 1991-2005, then improved, while Accra fluctuated in connectivity and Amman became progressively more disconnected.