Street-network Sprawl in Joinville, 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.

Joinville: city in Santa Catarina, 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 Joinville, Brazil on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Joinville as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 3.47, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 3.54, 3.37, 4.03 and 4.2. The disconnectivity of new streets constructed in Joinville fell, then rose. In 1976-1990, new street layouts were the most connected.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Joinville spans a total of 1598 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 3.54, 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 3.54, 3.44, 3.47 and 3.47. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Joinville has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

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

How do development practices in Joinville fare in comparison to others in Santa Catarina? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Joinville was the 9th-most disconnected out of the 12 cities in Santa Catarina. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Santa Catarina, street construction in Joinville has become more connected. Joinville ranked 3rd in 1975, 6th in 1976-1990, 8th in 1991-2000 and 9th in 2001-2014.

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

How do development practices in Joinville fare in comparison to others in Brazil? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Joinville was the 97th-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 Joinville has become more connected. Joinville ranked 28th in 1975, 48th in 1976-1990, 66th in 1991-2000 and 97th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Joinville is the 4th-most disconnected out of the 12 cities in Santa Catarina. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Santa Catarina, the street network in Joinville has become more connected. Joinville ranked 3rd in 1975, 4th in 1976-1990, 4th in 1991-2000 and 4th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Joinville is the 32nd-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 Joinville has become more connected. Joinville ranked 28th in 1975, 29th in 1976-1990, 31st in 1991-2000 and 32nd in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Joinville had a built-up area of 77.39 square kilometers, and a population of 488826 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: