Norfolk in context: Street-network sprawl trends

Norfolk in context

2.73.64.55.46.3<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
2.73.64.55.46.3<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
NorfolkVirginia (Region)United States (Country)

The chart above shows SNDi trends for new street additions (left panel) and the entire network (right panel), with Norfolk plotted against Virginia and United States. All three follow the same trend in new construction, suggesting a shared regional pattern of development. Most recently, Norfolk's incremental SNDi fell from 5.59 to 5.45 between 1991-2005 and 2006-2020. In terms of the aggregate network, Norfolk ranked 4th out of 11 cities in Virginia and 268th out of 333 in United States as of 2020.

New Street Additions (2006–2020)

SNDi value
5.45
Rank in United States
280th of 333
Rank in Virginia
9th of 11

Entire Network (Aggregate)

SNDi value
4.21
Rank in United States
268th of 333
Rank in Virginia
4th of 11

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

What about similarly populated cities?

23456<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of street additions
23456<19751976–19901991–20052006–2020SNDi of entire street network
NorfolkLondrinaTaxila

In new street additions, Norfolk built increasingly disconnected streets from 1975 through 1991-2005, then improved, while Londrina built increasingly disconnected streets over time and Taxila built increasingly connected streets from 1975 through 1991-2005, then shifted to more disconnected patterns. For the full network, Norfolk and Londrina both became progressively more disconnected, while Taxila became more connected from 1975 through 1991-2005, then grew more sprawly from 1991-2005 onwards.