Street-network Sprawl in Shucheng, China

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.

Shucheng: 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 Shucheng, China on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Shucheng as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.09, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, 0.81, 0.77 and 1.48. Data was not available in 1975.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Shucheng spans a total of 204 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of nan, 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 nan, 0.81, 0.88 and 1.09. Data was not available in 1975.

Shucheng and Anhui 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 Anhui fell steadily.

How do development practices in Shucheng fare in comparison to others in Anhui? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Shucheng was the 24th-most disconnected out of the 65 cities in Anhui. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Anhui, street construction in Shucheng has become more disconnected. Shucheng ranked 42nd in 1976-1990, 27th in 1991-2000 and 24th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Shucheng and China 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 China followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease.

How do development practices in Shucheng fare in comparison to others in China? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Shucheng was the 867th-most disconnected out of the 1651 cities in China. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in China, street construction in Shucheng has become more disconnected. Shucheng ranked 1136th in 1976-1990, 869th in 1991-2000 and 867th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Shucheng and Anhui do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in Anhui fell steadily.

To date, Shucheng is the 34th-most disconnected out of the 65 cities in Anhui. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Anhui, the street network in Shucheng has become more disconnected. Shucheng ranked 41st in 1976-1990, 33rd in 1991-2000 and 34th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Shucheng and China do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in China peaked in 1976-1990.

To date, Shucheng is the 1174th-most disconnected out of the 1651 cities in China. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in China, the street network in Shucheng has become more disconnected. Shucheng ranked 1226th in 1976-1990, 1206th in 1991-2000 and 1174th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Shucheng had a built-up area of 14.51 square kilometers, and a population of 129695 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: