Chelmsford in context: Street-network sprawl trends

Chelmsford in context

3.544.5<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
3.544.5<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
ChelmsfordEngland (Region)United Kingdom (Country)

The chart above shows SNDi trends for new street additions (left panel) and the entire network (right panel), with Chelmsford plotted against England and United Kingdom. The SNDi of new construction in Chelmsford followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease, compared to England which peaked in 1991-2005 and United Kingdom which peaked in 1991-2005. Most recently, Chelmsford's incremental SNDi rose from 3.58 to 3.64 between 1991-2005 and 2006-2020. In terms of the aggregate network, Chelmsford ranked 74th out of 124 cities in England and 82nd out of 143 in United Kingdom as of 2020.

New Street Additions (2006–2020)

SNDi value
3.64
Rank in United Kingdom
42nd of 143
Rank in England
37th of 124

Entire Network (Aggregate)

SNDi value
3.7
Rank in United Kingdom
82nd of 143
Rank in England
74th of 124

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

What about similarly populated cities?

34567<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
34567<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
ChelmsfordKeban AgungPunia

In new street additions, Chelmsford and Keban Agung both fluctuated in its street-construction patterns, while Punia built increasingly disconnected streets from 1975 through 1991-2005, then improved. Looking at the full network, Keban Agung and Punia both became progressively more disconnected, while Chelmsford grew more disconnected from 1975 through 1976-1990, then improved. Notably, Chelmsford had a more sprawly network than Punia in 1975 but the two have since reversed their relative ranking.