Exeter in context: Street-network sprawl trends

Exeter in context

33.544.55<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
33.544.55<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
ExeterEngland (Region)United Kingdom (Country)

The chart above shows SNDi trends for new street additions (left panel) and the entire network (right panel), with Exeter plotted against England and United Kingdom. The SNDi of new construction in Exeter peaked in 1976-1990, compared to England which peaked in 1991-2005 and United Kingdom which peaked in 1991-2005. Most recently, Exeter's incremental SNDi fell from 3.95 to 3.35 between 1991-2005 and 2006-2020. In terms of the aggregate network, Exeter ranked 27th out of 124 cities in England and 33rd out of 143 in United Kingdom as of 2020.

New Street Additions (2006–2020)

SNDi value
3.35
Rank in United Kingdom
20th of 143
Rank in England
16th of 124

Entire Network (Aggregate)

SNDi value
3.25
Rank in United Kingdom
33rd of 143
Rank in England
27th of 124

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

What about similarly populated cities?

1234<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
1234<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
ExeterMokwaSanta Rosa

In new street additions, Exeter and Santa Rosa both built increasingly disconnected streets from 1975 through 1976-1990, then improved, while Mokwa fluctuated in its street-construction patterns. For the full network, Exeter and Santa Rosa both became progressively more disconnected, while Mokwa fluctuated in connectivity.