Street-network Sprawl in Cosmópolis, 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.

Cosmópolis: city in São Paulo, 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 Cosmópolis, Brazil on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Cosmópolis as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.9, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are -0.04, 1.04, 3.3 and nan. Data was not available in 2001-2014.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Cosmópolis spans a total of 173 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 1.04, which is relatively 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 -0.04, 0.72, 0.9 and 0.9. The aggregate street network in Cosmópolis increased in disconnectivity initially,but the trend has turned around after 2000.

Cosmópolis and São Paulo 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 São Paulo rose steadily.

How do development practices in Cosmópolis fare in comparison to others in São Paulo? out of the 74 cities in São Paulo. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in São Paulo, street construction in Cosmópolis has become more disconnected. Cosmópolis ranked 57th in 1975, 43rd in 1976-1990 and 23rd in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Cosmópolis 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 Cosmópolis fare in comparison to others in Brazil? 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 Cosmópolis has become more disconnected. Cosmópolis ranked 307th in 1975, 168th in 1976-1990 and 105th in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Cosmópolis and São Paulo do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Cosmópolis peaked in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in São Paulo rose steadily.

To date, Cosmópolis is the 51st-most disconnected out of the 74 cities in São Paulo. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in São Paulo, the street network in Cosmópolis has become more disconnected. Cosmópolis ranked 57th in 1975, 49th in 1976-1990, 48th in 1991-2000 and 51st in 2001-2014.

Cosmópolis and Brazil do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Cosmópolis peaked in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Brazil rose steadily.

To date, Cosmópolis is the 247th-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 Cosmópolis has become more disconnected. Cosmópolis ranked 307th in 1975, 241st in 1976-1990, 237th in 1991-2000 and 247th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Cosmópolis had a built-up area of 5.99 square kilometers, and a population of 56831 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: