Street-network Sprawl in Wanquan, 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.

Wanquan: city in Hebei, 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 Wanquan, China on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Wanquan as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.26, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.85, 0.94, nan and 1.81. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Wanquan spans a total of 167 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 2001-2014. These roads have an SNDi of 1.81, which is relatively well-connected.

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 0.85, 0.94, 0.96 and 1.26. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Wanquan has become more disconnected.

Wanquan and Hebei 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 Hebei followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease.

How do development practices in Wanquan fare in comparison to others in Hebei? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Wanquan was the 42nd-most disconnected out of the 99 cities in Hebei. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Hebei, street construction in Wanquan has become more connected. Wanquan ranked 67th in 1975, 71st in 1976-1990 and 42nd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Wanquan 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 Wanquan fare in comparison to others in China? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Wanquan was the 739th-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 Wanquan has become more connected. Wanquan ranked 877th in 1975, 1078th in 1976-1990 and 739th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Wanquan and Hebei do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Wanquan rose steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Hebei peaked in 1976-1990.

To date, Wanquan is the 67th-most disconnected out of the 99 cities in Hebei. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Wanquan ranked 67th in 1975, 74th in 1976-1990, 72nd in 1991-2000 and 67th in 2001-2014.

Wanquan and China do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Wanquan rose steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in China peaked in 1976-1990.

To date, Wanquan is the 1083rd-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 Wanquan has become more connected. Wanquan ranked 877th in 1975, 1154th in 1976-1990, 1170th in 1991-2000 and 1083rd in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Wanquan had a built-up area of 12.56 square kilometers, and a population of 61116 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: