Reading in context: Street-network sprawl trends

Reading in context

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

The chart above shows SNDi trends for new street additions (left panel) and the entire network (right panel), with Reading plotted against England and United Kingdom. The SNDi of new construction in Reading peaked in 1976-1990, compared to England which peaked in 1991-2005 and United Kingdom which peaked in 1991-2005. Most recently, Reading's incremental SNDi fell from 4.61 to 3.73 between 1991-2005 and 2006-2020. In terms of the aggregate network, Reading ranked 93rd out of 124 cities in England and 104th out of 143 in United Kingdom as of 2020.

New Street Additions (2006–2020)

SNDi value
3.73
Rank in United Kingdom
48th of 143
Rank in England
42nd of 124

Entire Network (Aggregate)

SNDi value
3.9
Rank in United Kingdom
104th of 143
Rank in England
93rd of 124

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
ReadingLinxiaMisrata

In new street additions, Reading and Linxia both built increasingly disconnected streets from 1975 through 1976-1990, then improved, while Misrata built increasingly disconnected streets from 1975 through 1991-2005, then improved. Looking at the full network, Linxia and Misrata both became progressively more disconnected, while Reading grew more disconnected from 1975 through 1991-2005, then improved. Reading and Linxia have been converging in their street-network character since 1975.