Welkom in context: Street-network sprawl trends

Welkom in context

2.433.64.2<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
2.433.64.2<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
WelkomFree State (Region)South Africa (Country)

The chart above shows SNDi trends for new street additions (left panel) and the entire network (right panel), with Welkom plotted against Free State and South Africa. The SNDi of new construction in Welkom peaked in 1991-2005, compared to Free State which peaked in 1976-1990 and South Africa which rose steadily. Most recently, Welkom's incremental SNDi fell from 3.87 to 3.43 between 1991-2005 and 2006-2020. In terms of the aggregate network, Welkom ranked 7th out of 8 cities in Free State and 46th out of 81 in South Africa as of 2020.

New Street Additions (2006–2020)

SNDi value
3.43
Rank in South Africa
32nd of 81
Rank in Free State
7th of 8

Entire Network (Aggregate)

SNDi value
3.37
Rank in South Africa
46th of 81
Rank in Free State
7th of 8

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

What about similarly populated cities?

2468<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
2468<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
WelkomMuhammadabad GohnaAktau

In new street additions, Welkom built increasingly disconnected streets from 1975 through 1991-2005, then improved, while Muhammadabad Gohna built increasingly disconnected streets over time and Aktau fluctuated in its street-construction patterns. For the full network, Welkom and Muhammadabad Gohna both became progressively more disconnected, while Aktau fluctuated in connectivity. Welkom and Aktau have been growing further apart in their street-network character since 1975.