Street-network Sprawl in Angra dos Reis, 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.

Angra dos Reis: city in Rio de Janeiro, 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 Angra dos Reis, Brazil on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Angra dos Reis as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 5.11, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 4.92, 4.97, 9.03 and nan. Data was not available in 2001-2014.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Angra dos Reis spans a total of 179 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 4.97, 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 4.92, 4.91, 5.1 and 5.11. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Angra dos Reis has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Angra dos Reis and Rio de Janeiro 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 Rio de Janeiro rose steadily.

How do development practices in Angra dos Reis fare in comparison to others in Rio de Janeiro? out of the 18 cities in Rio de Janeiro. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Rio de Janeiro, street construction in Angra dos Reis has become more connected. Angra dos Reis ranked 3rd in 1975, 7th in 1976-1990 and 4th in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Angra dos Reis 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 Angra dos Reis fare in comparison to others in Brazil? 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 Angra dos Reis has become more connected. Angra dos Reis ranked 6th in 1975, 21st in 1976-1990 and 9th in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Angra dos Reis and Rio de Janeiro do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Angra dos Reis was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Rio de Janeiro rose steadily.

To date, Angra dos Reis is the 4th-most disconnected out of the 18 cities in Rio de Janeiro. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Rio de Janeiro, the street network in Angra dos Reis has become more connected. Angra dos Reis ranked 3rd in 1975, 4th in 1976-1990, 4th in 1991-2000 and 4th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Angra dos Reis is the 5th-most disconnected out of the 348 cities in Brazil. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Brazil, the street network in Angra dos Reis has become more disconnected. Angra dos Reis ranked 6th in 1975, 8th in 1976-1990, 5th in 1991-2000 and 5th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Angra dos Reis had a built-up area of 8.15 square kilometers, and a population of 95905 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: