Matsulu in context: Street-network sprawl trends

Matsulu in context

33.64.2<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
33.64.2<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
MatsuluMpumalanga (Region)South Africa (Country)

The chart above shows SNDi trends for new street additions (left panel) and the entire network (right panel), with Matsulu plotted against Mpumalanga and South Africa. All three follow the same trend in new construction, suggesting a shared regional pattern of development. Most recently, Matsulu's incremental SNDi rose from 3.43 to 4.0 between 1991-2005 and 2006-2020. In terms of the aggregate network, Matsulu ranked 6th out of 13 cities in Mpumalanga and 37th out of 81 in South Africa as of 2020.

New Street Additions (2006–2020)

SNDi value
4.0
Rank in South Africa
49th of 81
Rank in Mpumalanga
9th of 13

Entire Network (Aggregate)

SNDi value
3.09
Rank in South Africa
37th of 81
Rank in Mpumalanga
6th of 13

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

What about similarly populated cities?

12345<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
12345<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
MatsuluMirzayKadiolo

In new street additions, Matsulu and Kadiolo both built increasingly disconnected streets over time, while Mirzay fluctuated in its street-construction patterns. For the full network, Matsulu and Kadiolo both became progressively more disconnected, while Mirzay fluctuated in connectivity. Matsulu and Mirzay have been converging in their street-network character since 1975.