Street-network Sprawl in চাঁচকৈড়, 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.

চাঁচকৈড়: city in Rajshahi, 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 চাঁচকৈড়, Bangladesh on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in চাঁচকৈড় as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.74, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.1, nan, nan and 0.41. Data was not available in 1976-1990 and 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in চাঁচকৈড় spans a total of 63 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 2001-2014. These roads have an SNDi of 0.41, which is very 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 0.1, 0.05, 1.13 and 0.74. Disconnectivity in চাঁচকৈড়'s street network follows a zig-zag trend. In 1976-1990, the city was most disconnected; while it was most connected in 1991-2000.

চাঁচকৈড় and Rajshahi 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 Rajshahi peaked in 1976-1990.

How do development practices in চাঁচকৈড় fare in comparison to others in Rajshahi? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in চাঁচকৈড় was the 14th-most disconnected out of the 19 cities in Rajshahi. চাঁচকৈড় ranked 10th in 1975 and 14th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

চাঁচকৈড় 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 চাঁচকৈড় fare in comparison to others in Bangladesh? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in চাঁচকৈড় was the 110th-most disconnected out of the 157 cities in Bangladesh. চাঁচকৈড় ranked 56th in 1975 and 110th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

চাঁচকৈড় and Rajshahi do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in চাঁচকৈড় followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase, while the SNDi of street constructions in Rajshahi peaked in 1976-1990.

To date, চাঁচকৈড় is the 18th-most disconnected out of the 19 cities in Rajshahi. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Rajshahi, the street network in চাঁচকৈড় has become more connected. চাঁচকৈড় ranked 10th in 1975, 15th in 1976-1990, 14th in 1991-2000 and 18th in 2001-2014.

চাঁচকৈড় and Bangladesh do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in চাঁচকৈড় followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase, while the SNDi of street constructions in Bangladesh rose steadily.

To date, চাঁচকৈড় is the 142nd-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 চাঁচকৈড় has become more connected. চাঁচকৈড় ranked 56th in 1975, 99th in 1976-1990, 103rd in 1991-2000 and 142nd in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, চাঁচকৈড় had a built-up area of 6.93 square kilometers, and a population of 72361 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: