Street-network Sprawl in 京陇村, 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.

京陇村: city in Guangdong, 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 京陇村, China on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in 京陇村 as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 3.46, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, 4.03, nan and nan. Data was not available in 1975, 1991-2000 and 2001-2014.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in 京陇村 spans a total of 75 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 4.03, 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, 4.41, 3.1 and 3.46. Data was not available in 1975.

京陇村 and Guangdong 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 Guangdong was at its lowest in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in 京陇村 fare in comparison to others in Guangdong? out of the 109 cities in Guangdong. 京陇村 ranked 10th in 1976-1990. There was no ranking in 1975, 1991-2000, and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

京陇村 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 京陇村 fare in comparison to others in China? out of the 1651 cities in China. 京陇村 ranked 136th in 1976-1990. There was no ranking in 1975, 1991-2000, and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

京陇村 and Guangdong 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 Guangdong was at its lowest in 1991-2000.

To date, 京陇村 is the 22nd-most disconnected out of the 109 cities in Guangdong. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Guangdong, the street network in 京陇村 has become more connected. 京陇村 ranked 8th in 1976-1990, 24th in 1991-2000 and 22nd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

京陇村 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, 京陇村 is the 182nd-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 京陇村 has become more connected. 京陇村 ranked 67th in 1976-1990, 241st in 1991-2000 and 182nd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, 京陇村 had a built-up area of 3.15 square kilometers, and a population of 60537 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: