Street-network Sprawl in Qingyang, China

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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:

• nodal degree
• dendricity, the tree-likeness of the street network
• circuity, the ratio of the distance by road to the straight-line distance of two locations on the street network
• sinuosity, the curviness of a street

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:

• Global trends toward urban street-network sprawl
• A global assessment of street-network sprawl

To see the state of street-network sprawl across the globe, visit the sprawlmap.

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Qingyang: city in Anhui, China

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 Qingyang, China on the sprawlmap

How have Qingyang's street networks changed over time?

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Qingyang as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is -0.07, which is very well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are -0.0, -0.1, -1.24 and -0.13. The disconnectivity of new streets constructed in Qingyang fell, then rose. In 1991-2000, new street layouts were the most connected.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Qingyang spans a total of 96 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 2001-2014. These roads have an SNDi of -0.13, which is very 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 -0.0, -0.06, -0.11 and -0.07. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Qingyang has worsened in disconnectivity since 2000.

Qingyang in context: Street-network sprawl of new development

Qingyang and Anhui do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Qingyang was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Anhui fell steadily.

How do development practices in Qingyang fare in comparison to others in Anhui? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Qingyang was the 56th-most disconnected out of the 65 cities in Anhui. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Anhui, street construction in Qingyang has become more connected. Qingyang ranked 40th in 1975, 59th in 1976-1990, 60th in 1991-2000 and 56th in 2001-2014.

Qingyang and China do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Qingyang was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in China followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease.

Qingyang in context: Aggregate street-network sprawl

Qingyang and Anhui do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Qingyang was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Anhui fell steadily.

To date, Qingyang is the 63rd-most disconnected out of the 65 cities in Anhui. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Anhui, the street network in Qingyang has become more connected. Qingyang ranked 40th in 1975, 59th in 1976-1990, 62nd in 1991-2000 and 63rd in 2001-2014.

Qingyang and China do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Qingyang was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in China peaked in 1976-1990.

What about other similarly-populated cities?

As of 2015, Qingyang had a built-up area of 5.66 square kilometers, and a population of 55446 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population:

• Gongqingcheng, China
• El Puerto de Santa María, Spain
• 铁山区, China