Street-network Sprawl in Catalão, Brazil

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.

Catalão: city in Goiás, Brazil

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 Catalão, Brazil on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Catalão as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.14, which is very well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.1, 0.05, 0.25 and 0.6. The disconnectivity of new streets constructed in Catalão fell, then rose. In 1976-1990, new street layouts were the most connected.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Catalão spans a total of 418 kilometers. The period with the greatest volume of street construction was 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 0.05, 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, 0.07, 0.11 and 0.14. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Catalão has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Catalão and Goiás do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Catalão was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Goiás rose steadily.

How do development practices in Catalão fare in comparison to others in Goiás? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Catalão was the 13th-most disconnected out of the 18 cities in Goiás. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Goiás, street construction in Catalão has become more connected. Catalão ranked 10th in 1975, 14th in 1976-1990, 16th in 1991-2000 and 13th in 2001-2014.

Catalão and Brazil do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Catalão was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Brazil rose steadily.

How do development practices in Catalão fare in comparison to others in Brazil? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Catalão was the 313th-most disconnected out of the 348 cities in Brazil. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Brazil, street construction in Catalão has become more connected. Catalão ranked 285th in 1975, 225th in 1976-1990, 323rd in 1991-2000 and 313th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Catalão is the 15th-most disconnected out of the 18 cities in Goiás. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Goiás, the street network in Catalão has become more connected. Catalão ranked 10th in 1975, 13th in 1976-1990, 15th in 1991-2000 and 15th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Catalão is the 336th-most disconnected out of the 348 cities in Brazil. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Brazil, the street network in Catalão has become more connected. Catalão ranked 285th in 1975, 323rd in 1976-1990, 330th in 1991-2000 and 336th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Catalão had a built-up area of 9.56 square kilometers, and a population of 82079 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: