Dubai in context: Street-network sprawl trends

Dubai in context

2.42.83.23.6<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
2.42.83.23.6<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
DubaiUnited Arab Emirates (Country)

The chart above shows SNDi trends for new street additions (left panel) and the entire network (right panel), with Dubai plotted against United Arab Emirates. Both Dubai and United Arab Emirates follow the same trend. Most recently, Dubai's incremental SNDi rose from 3.36 to 3.46 between 1991-2005 and 2006-2020. In terms of the aggregate network, Dubai ranked 12th out of 15 in United Arab Emirates as of 2020.

New Street Additions (2006–2020)

SNDi value
3.46
Rank in United Arab Emirates
14th of 15

Entire Network (Aggregate)

SNDi value
2.86
Rank in United Arab Emirates
12th of 15

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

What about similarly populated cities?

2.43.244.8<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
2.43.244.8<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
DubaiJeddahSydney

In new street additions, Dubai and Jeddah both built increasingly disconnected streets over time, while Sydney built increasingly disconnected streets from 1975 through 1991-2005, then improved. For the full street network, though, all three cities follow the same trend. Dubai and Jeddah have been converging in their street-network character since 1975.