Street-network Sprawl in Ribeirao Preto, 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.

Ribeirao Preto: 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 Ribeirao Preto, Brazil on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Ribeirao Preto as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.11, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.78, 1.68, 1.5 and 1.71. Disconnectivity in street construction in Ribeirao Preto follows a zig-zag trend. In 1975, street construction was most disconnected, while construction was most connected in 2001-2014.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Ribeirao Preto spans a total of 1862 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 0.78, 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 0.78, 1.08, 1.1 and 1.11. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Ribeirao Preto has become more disconnected. This increase has slowed: between 1975 and 1976-1990, SNDi rose by 0.3 points, but between 1991-2000 and 2001-2014, it rose by just 0.02.

Ribeirao Preto and São Paulo do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Ribeirao Preto followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase, while the SNDi of street constructions in São Paulo rose steadily.

How do development practices in Ribeirao Preto fare in comparison to others in São Paulo? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Ribeirao Preto was the 57th-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 Ribeirao Preto has become more connected. Ribeirao Preto ranked 32nd in 1975, 29th in 1976-1990, 43rd in 1991-2000 and 57th in 2001-2014.

Ribeirao Preto and Brazil do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Ribeirao Preto followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase, while the SNDi of street constructions in Brazil rose steadily.

How do development practices in Ribeirao Preto fare in comparison to others in Brazil? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Ribeirao Preto was the 252nd-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 Ribeirao Preto has become more connected. Ribeirao Preto ranked 199th in 1975, 126th in 1976-1990, 222nd in 1991-2000 and 252nd in 2001-2014.

Ribeirao Preto and São Paulo follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.

To date, Ribeirao Preto is the 44th-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 Ribeirao Preto has become more connected. Ribeirao Preto ranked 32nd in 1975, 39th in 1976-1990, 42nd in 1991-2000 and 44th in 2001-2014.

Ribeirao Preto and Brazil follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.

To date, Ribeirao Preto is the 221st-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 Ribeirao Preto has become more connected. Ribeirao Preto ranked 199th in 1975, 205th in 1976-1990, 213th in 1991-2000 and 221st in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Ribeirao Preto had a built-up area of 55.34 square kilometers, and a population of 576546 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population:

For some related information about population, urban extent and density, and roads, visit the Atlas of Urban Expansion.