Street-network Sprawl in Huaihua, 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.

Huaihua: city in Hunan, 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 Huaihua, China on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Huaihua as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.9, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 1.67, 2.11, nan and 1.67. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Huaihua spans a total of 224 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 2.11, 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 1.67, 1.95, 1.95 and 1.9. The aggregate street network in Huaihua increased in disconnectivity initially,but the trend has turned around after 1990.

Huaihua and Hunan 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 Hunan followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease.

How do development practices in Huaihua fare in comparison to others in Hunan? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Huaihua was the 47th-most disconnected out of the 95 cities in Hunan. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Hunan, street construction in Huaihua has become more disconnected. Huaihua ranked 43rd in 1975, 39th in 1976-1990 and 47th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Huaihua 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 Huaihua fare in comparison to others in China? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Huaihua was the 793rd-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 Huaihua has become more connected. Huaihua ranked 596th in 1975, 614th in 1976-1990 and 793rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

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

To date, Huaihua is the 53rd-most disconnected out of the 95 cities in Hunan. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Hunan, the street network in Huaihua has become more connected. Huaihua ranked 43rd in 1975, 48th in 1976-1990, 45th in 1991-2000 and 53rd in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Huaihua is the 742nd-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 Huaihua has become more connected. Huaihua ranked 596th in 1975, 679th in 1976-1990, 687th in 1991-2000 and 742nd in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Huaihua had a built-up area of 17.43 square kilometers, and a population of 478320 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: