Balcad in context: Street-network sprawl trends

Balcad in context

1.21.82.4<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
1.21.82.4<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
BalcadShabeellaha Dhexe (Region)Somalia (Country)

The chart above shows SNDi trends for new street additions (left panel) and the entire network (right panel), with Balcad plotted against Shabeellaha Dhexe and Somalia. The SNDi of new construction in Balcad was at its lowest in 1991-2005, compared to Shabeellaha Dhexe which followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase and Somalia which followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase. Most recently, Balcad's incremental SNDi rose from 0.94 to 1.3 between 1991-2005 and 2006-2020. In terms of the aggregate network, Balcad ranked 2nd out of 2 cities in Shabeellaha Dhexe and 7th out of 39 in Somalia as of 2020.

New Street Additions (2006–2020)

SNDi value
1.3
Rank in Somalia
5th of 39
Rank in Shabeellaha Dhexe
1st of 2

Entire Network (Aggregate)

SNDi value
1.25
Rank in Somalia
7th of 39
Rank in Shabeellaha Dhexe
2nd of 2

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

What about similarly populated cities?

0.81.62.43.2<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
0.81.62.43.2<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
BalcadAharKhorbranga

In new street additions, Balcad and Ahar both built increasingly connected streets from 1975 through 1991-2005, then shifted to more disconnected patterns, while Khorbranga fluctuated in its street-construction patterns. For the full network, Balcad and Ahar both became more connected from 1975 through 1991-2005, then grew more sprawly from 1991-2005 onwards, while Khorbranga became progressively more disconnected. Notably, Balcad had a more sprawly network than Khorbranga in 1975 but the two have since reversed their relative ranking.