Street-network Sprawl in Sabirabad, Azerbaijan

What is Street-network sprawl?

Street-network Sprawl is a way to measure urban sprawl, worldwide, through the connectedness of the streets. Less sprawl means more connected, more walkable streets. Well-connected streets – like New York City’s grid – are more walkable and can be served by public transit.

The street network is permanent, and its connectivity affects the livability and environmental footprint of cities for decades and centuries to come. In places with more connected streets, residents drive less and walk more. A well-connected street network is associated with better outcomes for health, the environment, sustainable consumption, social integration, and equity.

We can quantify how connected street networks are with the Street Network Disconnectedness Index (SNDi).

SNDi -- our measure of street-network sprawl (disconnectedness)

The SNDi is a comprehensive measurement of “sprawl”. It captures:

A higher SNDi means less-connected streets – i.e., more sprawl. For the 10137 cities in our dataset, the average SNDi is 2.25, with half of the cities' SNDis falling between 1.08 and 3.25.

More information on the sprawl index can be found in these research papers:

To see the state of street-network sprawl across the globe, visit the sprawlmap.

Sabirabad: city in Aran, Azerbaijan

What exactly constitutes the spatial extent of the city? For these aggregations, we used the Global Human Settlement Layer Urban Center Database (GHS-UCDB) to define the boundaries of the city. These cities -- or urban centers -- cover areas that are densely populated and built-up, and so may extend beyond the spatial borders of these cities that we may be familiar with. The GHS area is shaded in blue.

View Sabirabad, Azerbaijan on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Sabirabad as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 2.52, which is in the 40th to 60th percentile of disconnectedness.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 4.56, 1.5, nan and 1.31. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Sabirabad spans a total of 85 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 1.5, which is relatively well-connected.

Effect on the aggregate network: New construction in each period adds to the total stock of streets, but does not change streets that have already been built. Therefore, it has a limited effect on the street network as a whole. The SNDis of the aggregate street network in the respective time periods are 4.56, 2.43, 2.54 and 2.52. Disconnectivity in Sabirabad's street network follows a zig-zag trend. In 1976-1990, the city was most disconnected; while it was most connected in 1975.

Sabirabad and Aran do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in Aran followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease.

How do development practices in Sabirabad fare in comparison to others in Aran? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Sabirabad was the 5th-most disconnected out of the 6 cities in Aran. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Sabirabad ranked 4th in 1975, 4th in 1976-1990 and 5th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Sabirabad and Azerbaijan do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in Azerbaijan was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

How do development practices in Sabirabad fare in comparison to others in Azerbaijan? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Sabirabad was the 11th-most disconnected out of the 16 cities in Azerbaijan. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Azerbaijan, street construction in Sabirabad has become more connected. Sabirabad ranked 7th in 1975, 12th in 1976-1990 and 11th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Sabirabad and Aran follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease.

To date, Sabirabad is the 6th-most disconnected out of the 6 cities in Aran. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Aran, the street network in Sabirabad has become more connected. Sabirabad ranked 4th in 1975, 6th in 1976-1990, 6th in 1991-2000 and 6th in 2001-2014.

Sabirabad and Azerbaijan do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Sabirabad followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease, while the SNDi of street constructions in Azerbaijan was at its lowest in 1991-2000.

To date, Sabirabad is the 13th-most disconnected out of the 16 cities in Azerbaijan. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Azerbaijan, the street network in Sabirabad has become more connected. Sabirabad ranked 7th in 1975, 14th in 1976-1990, 12th in 1991-2000 and 13th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Sabirabad had a built-up area of 3.83 square kilometers, and a population of 71688 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: