Street-network Sprawl in São José dos Pinhais, 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.

São José dos Pinhais: city in Paraná, 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 São José dos Pinhais, Brazil on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in São José dos Pinhais as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 2.36, 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 2.32, 3.06, nan and 5.33. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in São José dos Pinhais spans a total of 567 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 2.32, which is in the 40th to 60th percentile of disconnectedness.

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 2.32, 2.33, 2.33 and 2.36. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in São José dos Pinhais has become more disconnected.

São José dos Pinhais and Paraná 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 Paraná rose steadily.

How do development practices in São José dos Pinhais fare in comparison to others in Paraná? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in São José dos Pinhais was the 4th-most disconnected out of the 22 cities in Paraná. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Paraná, street construction in São José dos Pinhais has become more connected. São José dos Pinhais ranked 1st in 1975, 3rd in 1976-1990 and 4th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

São José dos Pinhais 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 São José dos Pinhais fare in comparison to others in Brazil? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in São José dos Pinhais was the 55th-most disconnected out of the 348 cities in Brazil. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Brazil, street construction in São José dos Pinhais has become more disconnected. São José dos Pinhais ranked 63rd in 1975, 52nd in 1976-1990 and 55th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

São José dos Pinhais and Paraná do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in São José dos Pinhais rose steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Paraná rose steadily.

To date, São José dos Pinhais is the 5th-most disconnected out of the 22 cities in Paraná. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Paraná, the street network in São José dos Pinhais has become more connected. São José dos Pinhais ranked 1st in 1975, 4th in 1976-1990, 5th in 1991-2000 and 5th in 2001-2014.

São José dos Pinhais and Brazil do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in São José dos Pinhais rose steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Brazil rose steadily.

To date, São José dos Pinhais is the 90th-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 São José dos Pinhais has become more connected. São José dos Pinhais ranked 63rd in 1975, 76th in 1976-1990, 89th in 1991-2000 and 90th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, São José dos Pinhais had a built-up area of 27.65 square kilometers, and a population of 181803 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: