Street-network Sprawl in Wuhe, 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.

Wuhe: 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 Wuhe, China on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Wuhe as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 2.5, which is in the 40th to 60th percentile of disconnectedness.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, 2.49, 9.52 and 2.19. Data was not available in 1975.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Wuhe spans a total of 162 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, 2.49, 2.79 and 2.5. Data was not available in 1975.

Wuhe 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 Wuhe fare in comparison to others in Anhui? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Wuhe was the 7th-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 Wuhe has become more disconnected. Wuhe ranked 8th in 1976-1990, 2nd in 1991-2000 and 7th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Wuhe 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 Wuhe fare in comparison to others in China? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Wuhe was the 605th-most disconnected out of the 1651 cities in China. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in China, street construction in Wuhe has become more connected. Wuhe ranked 458th in 1976-1990, 8th in 1991-2000 and 605th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Wuhe 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, Wuhe is the 5th-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 Wuhe has become more disconnected. Wuhe ranked 9th in 1976-1990, 2nd in 1991-2000 and 5th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Wuhe 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, Wuhe is the 479th-most disconnected out of the 1651 cities in China. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in China, the street network in Wuhe has become more connected. Wuhe ranked 453rd in 1976-1990, 333rd in 1991-2000 and 479th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Wuhe had a built-up area of 15.56 square kilometers, and a population of 99212 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: