Street-network Sprawl in Xinghua, 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.

Xinghua: city in Heilongjiang, 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 Xinghua, China on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Xinghua as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 2.95, 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 4.34, 1.5, 3.4 and nan. Data was not available in 2001-2014.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Xinghua spans a total of 99 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 1.5, 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 4.34, 2.49, 2.67 and 2.95. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Xinghua has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Xinghua and Heilongjiang 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 Heilongjiang peaked in 1976-1990.

How do development practices in Xinghua fare in comparison to others in Heilongjiang? out of the 52 cities in Heilongjiang. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Heilongjiang, street construction in Xinghua has become more connected. Xinghua ranked 2nd in 1975, 33rd in 1976-1990 and 7th in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Xinghua 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 Xinghua fare in comparison to others in China? 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 Xinghua has become more connected. Xinghua ranked 87th in 1975, 871st in 1976-1990 and 182nd in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

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

To date, Xinghua is the 12th-most disconnected out of the 52 cities in Heilongjiang. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Heilongjiang, the street network in Xinghua has become more connected. Xinghua ranked 2nd in 1975, 16th in 1976-1990, 15th in 1991-2000 and 12th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Xinghua is the 302nd-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 Xinghua has become more connected. Xinghua ranked 87th in 1975, 456th in 1976-1990, 371st in 1991-2000 and 302nd in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Xinghua had a built-up area of 9.46 square kilometers, and a population of 86503 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: