Street-network Sprawl in Bafia, Cameroon

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.

Bafia: city in Centre, Cameroon

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 Bafia, Cameroon on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Bafia as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 3.97, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are -0.27, 3.44, nan and 5.51. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Bafia spans a total of 112 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 3.44, 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 -0.27, 3.38, 3.38 and 3.97. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Bafia has become more disconnected. This increase has slowed: between 1975 and 1976-1990, SNDi rose by 3.66 points, but between 1991-2000 and 2001-2014, it rose by just 0.59.

Bafia and Centre 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 Centre was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

How do development practices in Bafia fare in comparison to others in Centre? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Bafia was the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 4 cities in Centre. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Centre, street construction in Bafia has become more disconnected. Bafia ranked 4th in 1975, 2nd in 1976-1990 and 2nd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Bafia and Cameroon 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 Cameroon rose steadily.

How do development practices in Bafia fare in comparison to others in Cameroon? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Bafia was the 5th-most disconnected out of the 51 cities in Cameroon. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Cameroon, street construction in Bafia has become more disconnected. Bafia ranked 35th in 1975, 12th in 1976-1990 and 5th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

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

To date, Bafia is the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 4 cities in Centre. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Centre, the street network in Bafia has become more disconnected. Bafia ranked 4th in 1975, 3rd in 1976-1990, 3rd in 1991-2000 and 2nd in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Bafia is the 8th-most disconnected out of the 51 cities in Cameroon. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Cameroon, the street network in Bafia has become more disconnected. Bafia ranked 35th in 1975, 9th in 1976-1990, 11th in 1991-2000 and 8th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Bafia had a built-up area of 2.67 square kilometers, and a population of 82542 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: