Street-network Sprawl in Pindamonhangaba, 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.

Pindamonhangaba: 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 Pindamonhangaba, Brazil on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Pindamonhangaba as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 2.33, 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 2.34, nan, nan and 2.04. Data was not available in 1976-1990 and 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Pindamonhangaba spans a total of 272 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 2.34, 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 2.34, 2.34, 2.34 and 2.33. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has fallen: the street network in Pindamonhangaba has become more connected. This decrease has quickened: between 1975 and 1976-1990, SNDi fell by 0.0 points, but between 1991-2000 and 2001-2014, it fell by just 0.01.

Pindamonhangaba 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 Pindamonhangaba fare in comparison to others in São Paulo? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Pindamonhangaba was the 48th-most disconnected out of the 74 cities in São Paulo. Pindamonhangaba ranked 13th in 1975 and 48th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Pindamonhangaba 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 Pindamonhangaba fare in comparison to others in Brazil? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Pindamonhangaba was the 222nd-most disconnected out of the 348 cities in Brazil. Pindamonhangaba ranked 62nd in 1975 and 222nd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Pindamonhangaba and São Paulo do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Pindamonhangaba fell steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in São Paulo rose steadily.

To date, Pindamonhangaba is the 20th-most disconnected out of the 74 cities in São Paulo. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in São Paulo, the street network in Pindamonhangaba has become more connected. Pindamonhangaba ranked 13th in 1975, 17th in 1976-1990, 20th in 1991-2000 and 20th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Pindamonhangaba is the 98th-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 Pindamonhangaba has become more connected. Pindamonhangaba ranked 62nd in 1975, 73rd in 1976-1990, 88th in 1991-2000 and 98th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Pindamonhangaba had a built-up area of 11.19 square kilometers, and a population of 72658 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: