Street-network Sprawl in Gouripur, Bangladesh

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.

Gouripur: city in Dhaka, Bangladesh

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 Gouripur, Bangladesh on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Gouripur as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.37, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, 0.79, 2.23 and 1.17. Data was not available in 1975.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Gouripur spans a total of 98 kilometers. The period with the greatest volume of street construction was 1991-2000. These roads have an SNDi of 2.23, 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 nan, 0.98, 1.53 and 1.37. Data was not available in 1975.

Gouripur and Dhaka 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 Dhaka followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in Gouripur fare in comparison to others in Dhaka? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Gouripur was the 23rd-most disconnected out of the 38 cities in Dhaka. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Dhaka, street construction in Gouripur has become more connected. Gouripur ranked 20th in 1976-1990, 11th in 1991-2000 and 23rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Gouripur and Bangladesh 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 Bangladesh rose steadily.

How do development practices in Gouripur fare in comparison to others in Bangladesh? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Gouripur was the 103rd-most disconnected out of the 157 cities in Bangladesh. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Bangladesh, street construction in Gouripur has become more connected. Gouripur ranked 84th in 1976-1990, 60th in 1991-2000 and 103rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Gouripur and Dhaka do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in Dhaka followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

To date, Gouripur is the 27th-most disconnected out of the 38 cities in Dhaka. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Dhaka, the street network in Gouripur has become more connected. Gouripur ranked 19th in 1976-1990, 21st in 1991-2000 and 27th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Gouripur and Bangladesh do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in Bangladesh rose steadily.

To date, Gouripur is the 128th-most disconnected out of the 157 cities in Bangladesh. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Bangladesh, the street network in Gouripur has become more connected. Gouripur ranked 89th in 1976-1990, 97th in 1991-2000 and 128th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Gouripur had a built-up area of 6.77 square kilometers, and a population of 339401 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: