Street-network Sprawl in Wuyang, 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.

Wuyang: city in Henan, 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 Wuyang, China on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Wuyang as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.01, which is very well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, -0.09, 0.04 and 1.19. Data was not available in 1975.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Wuyang spans a total of 131 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of nan, 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, -0.09, -0.06 and 0.01. Data was not available in 1975.

Wuyang and Henan 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 Henan peaked in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in Wuyang fare in comparison to others in Henan? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Wuyang was the 45th-most disconnected out of the 118 cities in Henan. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Henan, street construction in Wuyang has become more disconnected. Wuyang ranked 97th in 1976-1990, 71st in 1991-2000 and 45th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Wuyang 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 Wuyang fare in comparison to others in China? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Wuyang was the 950th-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 Wuyang has become more disconnected. Wuyang ranked 1383rd in 1976-1990, 1077th in 1991-2000 and 950th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Wuyang and Henan 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 Henan peaked in 1976-1990.

To date, Wuyang is the 101st-most disconnected out of the 118 cities in Henan. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Henan, the street network in Wuyang has become more connected. Wuyang ranked 95th in 1976-1990, 101st in 1991-2000 and 101st in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Wuyang 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, Wuyang is the 1558th-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 Wuyang has become more connected. Wuyang ranked 1489th in 1976-1990, 1521st in 1991-2000 and 1558th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Wuyang had a built-up area of 13.98 square kilometers, and a population of 86773 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: