Street-network Sprawl in Xuwen County, 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.

Xuwen County: 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 Xuwen County, China on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Xuwen County as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 3.07, 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 3.66, nan, 2.08 and 3.66. Data was not available in 1976-1990.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Xuwen County spans a total of 133 kilometers. The period with the greatest volume of street construction was 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 3.66, 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 3.66, 3.66, 2.97 and 3.07. Disconnectivity in Xuwen County's street network follows a zig-zag trend. In 1991-2000, the city was most disconnected; while it was most connected in 1975.

Xuwen County 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 Xuwen County fare in comparison to others in Guangdong? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Xuwen County was the 24th-most disconnected out of the 109 cities in Guangdong. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Guangdong, street construction in Xuwen County has become more disconnected. Xuwen County ranked 19th in 1975, 39th in 1991-2000 and 24th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Xuwen County 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 Xuwen County fare in comparison to others in China? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Xuwen County was the 241st-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 Xuwen County has become more disconnected. Xuwen County ranked 138th in 1975, 469th in 1991-2000 and 241st in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

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

To date, Xuwen County is the 26th-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 Xuwen County has become more connected. Xuwen County ranked 19th in 1975, 19th in 1976-1990, 26th in 1991-2000 and 26th in 2001-2014.

Xuwen County and China do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Xuwen County followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease, while the SNDi of street constructions in China peaked in 1976-1990.

To date, Xuwen County is the 268th-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 Xuwen County has become more connected. Xuwen County ranked 138th in 1975, 144th in 1976-1990, 280th in 1991-2000 and 268th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Xuwen County had a built-up area of 9.15 square kilometers, and a population of 174341 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: