Street-network Sprawl in Kuitan, 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.

Kuitan: 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 Kuitan, China on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Kuitan as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 3.93, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 5.26, 3.61, nan and 5.15. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Kuitan spans a total of 65 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 3.61, 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 5.26, 3.8, 3.8 and 3.93. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Kuitan has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Kuitan 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 Kuitan fare in comparison to others in Guangdong? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Kuitan was the 9th-most disconnected out of the 109 cities in Guangdong. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Guangdong, street construction in Kuitan has become more connected. Kuitan ranked 9th in 1975, 18th in 1976-1990 and 9th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Kuitan 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 Kuitan fare in comparison to others in China? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Kuitan was the 93rd-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 Kuitan has become more connected. Kuitan ranked 41st in 1975, 194th in 1976-1990 and 93rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

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

To date, Kuitan is the 7th-most disconnected out of the 109 cities in Guangdong. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Guangdong, the street network in Kuitan has become more disconnected. Kuitan ranked 9th in 1975, 16th in 1976-1990, 10th in 1991-2000 and 7th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Kuitan is the 106th-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 Kuitan has become more connected. Kuitan ranked 41st in 1975, 119th in 1976-1990, 107th in 1991-2000 and 106th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Kuitan had a built-up area of 4.28 square kilometers, and a population of 87318 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: