Street-network Sprawl in Sreemangal, 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.

Sreemangal: city in Sylhet, 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 Sreemangal, Bangladesh on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Sreemangal as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 2.78, 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 6.88, 1.73, 4.37 and nan. Data was not available in 2001-2014.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Sreemangal spans a total of 59 kilometers. The period with the greatest volume of street construction was 2001-2014. These roads have an SNDi of nan, which is highly disconnected.

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 6.88, 2.17, 2.99 and 2.78. Disconnectivity in Sreemangal's street network follows a zig-zag trend. In 1976-1990, the city was most disconnected; while it was most connected in 1975.

Sreemangal and Sylhet 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 Sylhet rose steadily.

How do development practices in Sreemangal fare in comparison to others in Sylhet? out of the 14 cities in Sylhet. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Sylhet, street construction in Sreemangal has become more connected. Sreemangal ranked 1st in 1975, 6th in 1976-1990 and 4th in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Sreemangal 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 Sreemangal fare in comparison to others in Bangladesh? 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 Sreemangal has become more connected. Sreemangal ranked 4th in 1975, 77th in 1976-1990 and 45th in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

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

To date, Sreemangal is the 9th-most disconnected out of the 14 cities in Sylhet. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Sylhet, the street network in Sreemangal has become more connected. Sreemangal ranked 1st in 1975, 5th in 1976-1990, 7th in 1991-2000 and 9th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Sreemangal is the 92nd-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 Sreemangal has become more connected. Sreemangal ranked 4th in 1975, 77th in 1976-1990, 67th in 1991-2000 and 92nd in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Sreemangal had a built-up area of 10.89 square kilometers, and a population of 212337 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: