Comparisons
Northern vs. the other two most closely populated regions in Sierra Leone: Eastern and Southern
Northern in context: Street-network sprawl of new development
The level of street-network sprawl in new development in Northern rose steadily. To get a sense of how street development has changed in Northern, we can consider three of its most populous cities: Makeni, Mahera and Magburaka. Out of the three cities, Mahera does not follow the same trend as the region. The level of street-network sprawl in new development in Mahera peaked in 1991-2005.
How do development practices in Northern fare in comparison to others in Sierra Leone? Most recently in 2006-2020, street construction in Northern was the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 4 regions in Sierra Leone. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Northern ranked 2nd in 1975, 2nd in 1976-1990, 2nd in 1991-2005 and 2nd in 2006-2020.
Northern in context: Aggregate street-network sprawl
As of 2020, the city with the most disconnected street network in Northern is Kambia with an SNDi of 7.79, which is very sprawly. Conversely, the most connected city is Port Loko with an SNDi of 2.2, which is well-connected. See trends for these cities: Port Loko, Kambia
The level of street-network sprawl in the aggregate network in Northern rose steadily. To get a sense of how the aggregate street network has changed in Northern, we can consider three of its most populous cities: Makeni, Mahera and Magburaka. Disconnectivity in the most populous cities in Northern follow the same region trend.
To date, Northern is the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 4 regions in Sierra Leone. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Northern ranked 2nd in 1975, 2nd in 1976-1990, 2nd in 1991-2005 and 2nd in 2006-2020.