Street-network Sprawl in Francistown, Botswana

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.

Francistown: city in Botswana

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 Francistown, Botswana on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Francistown as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 3.5, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 3.75, 3.32, 3.84 and 3.99. The disconnectivity of new streets constructed in Francistown fell, then rose. In 1976-1990, new street layouts were the most connected.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Francistown spans a total of 268 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 3.32, 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 3.75, 3.41, 3.46 and 3.5. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Francistown has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Francistown and Francistown do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Francistown was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Francistown followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in Francistown fare in comparison to others in Francistown? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Francistown was the 1st-most disconnected out of the 1 cities in Francistown. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Francistown ranked 1st in 1975, 1st in 1976-1990, 1st in 1991-2000 and 1st in 2001-2014.

Francistown and Botswana do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Francistown was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Botswana peaked in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in Francistown fare in comparison to others in Botswana? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Francistown was the 4th-most disconnected out of the 7 cities in Botswana. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Botswana, street construction in Francistown has become more connected. Francistown ranked 1st in 1975, 4th in 1976-1990, 2nd in 1991-2000 and 4th in 2001-2014.

Francistown and Francistown follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

To date, Francistown is the 1st-most disconnected out of the 1 cities in Francistown. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Francistown ranked 1st in 1975, 1st in 1976-1990, 1st in 1991-2000 and 1st in 2001-2014.

Francistown and Botswana do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Francistown was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Botswana rose steadily.

To date, Francistown is the 3rd-most disconnected out of the 7 cities in Botswana. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Botswana, the street network in Francistown has become more connected. Francistown ranked 1st in 1975, 3rd in 1976-1990, 3rd in 1991-2000 and 3rd in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Francistown had a built-up area of 9.15 square kilometers, and a population of 80839 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: