Mthatha in context: Street-network sprawl trends

Mthatha in context

33.544.5<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
33.544.5<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
MthathaEastern Cape (Region)South Africa (Country)

The chart above shows SNDi trends for new street additions (left panel) and the entire network (right panel), with Mthatha plotted against Eastern Cape and South Africa. The SNDi of new construction in Mthatha followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase, compared to Eastern Cape which rose steadily and South Africa which rose steadily. Most recently, Mthatha's incremental SNDi rose from 3.29 to 3.55 between 1991-2005 and 2006-2020. In terms of the aggregate network, Mthatha ranked 8th out of 9 cities in Eastern Cape and 51st out of 81 in South Africa as of 2020.

New Street Additions (2006–2020)

SNDi value
3.55
Rank in South Africa
36th of 81
Rank in Eastern Cape
4th of 9

Entire Network (Aggregate)

SNDi value
3.48
Rank in South Africa
51st of 81
Rank in Eastern Cape
8th of 9

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

What about similarly populated cities?

1.62.43.24<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
1.62.43.24<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
MthathaMengchengXiping

In new street additions, Mthatha and Xiping both fluctuated in its street-construction patterns, while Mengcheng built increasingly disconnected streets from 1975 through 1976-1990, then improved. For the full network, Mthatha and Xiping both fluctuated in connectivity, while Mengcheng grew more disconnected from 1975 through 1991-2005, then improved.