Street-network Sprawl in Polvilho, 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.

Polvilho: 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 Polvilho, Brazil on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Polvilho as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 4.52, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 3.92, 4.82, nan and 2.47. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Polvilho spans a total of 232 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 4.82, 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 3.92, 4.6, 4.6 and 4.52. The aggregate street network in Polvilho increased in disconnectivity initially,but the trend has turned around after 1990.

Polvilho 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 Polvilho fare in comparison to others in São Paulo? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Polvilho was the 42nd-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, street construction in Polvilho has become more connected. Polvilho ranked 4th in 1975, 8th in 1976-1990 and 42nd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Polvilho 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 Polvilho fare in comparison to others in Brazil? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Polvilho was the 189th-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 Polvilho has become more connected. Polvilho ranked 19th in 1975, 23rd in 1976-1990 and 189th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Polvilho and São Paulo do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Polvilho peaked in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in São Paulo rose steadily.

To date, Polvilho is the 3rd-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 Polvilho has become more disconnected. Polvilho ranked 4th in 1975, 3rd in 1976-1990, 3rd in 1991-2000 and 3rd in 2001-2014.

Polvilho and Brazil do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Polvilho peaked in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Brazil rose steadily.

To date, Polvilho is the 14th-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 Polvilho has become more disconnected. Polvilho ranked 19th in 1975, 14th in 1976-1990, 13th in 1991-2000 and 14th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Polvilho had a built-up area of 9.57 square kilometers, and a population of 81119 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: