Street-network Sprawl in Tangará da Serra, 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.

Tangará da Serra: city in Mato Grosso, 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 Tangará da Serra, Brazil on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Tangará da Serra as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.17, which is very well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.09, nan, 1.51 and 0.34. Data was not available in 1976-1990.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Tangará da Serra spans a total of 256 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 0.09, 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 0.09, 0.09, 0.16 and 0.17. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Tangará da Serra has become more disconnected.

Tangará da Serra and Mato Grosso 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 Mato Grosso rose steadily.

How do development practices in Tangará da Serra fare in comparison to others in Mato Grosso? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Tangará da Serra was the 6th-most disconnected out of the 7 cities in Mato Grosso. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Mato Grosso, street construction in Tangará da Serra has become more connected. Tangará da Serra ranked 6th in 1975, 2nd in 1991-2000 and 6th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Tangará da Serra and Brazil 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 Brazil rose steadily.

How do development practices in Tangará da Serra fare in comparison to others in Brazil? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Tangará da Serra was the 325th-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 Tangará da Serra has become more connected. Tangará da Serra ranked 286th in 1975, 221st in 1991-2000 and 325th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Tangará da Serra and Mato Grosso do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Tangará da Serra rose steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Mato Grosso rose steadily.

To date, Tangará da Serra is the 7th-most disconnected out of the 7 cities in Mato Grosso. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Mato Grosso, the street network in Tangará da Serra has become more connected. Tangará da Serra ranked 6th in 1975, 7th in 1976-1990, 7th in 1991-2000 and 7th in 2001-2014.

Tangará da Serra and Brazil do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Tangará da Serra rose steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Brazil rose steadily.

To date, Tangará da Serra is the 333rd-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 Tangará da Serra has become more connected. Tangará da Serra ranked 286th in 1975, 322nd in 1976-1990, 325th in 1991-2000 and 333rd in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Tangará da Serra had a built-up area of 6.47 square kilometers, and a population of 62579 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: