Street-network Sprawl in Sihong, 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.

Sihong: city in Jiangsu, 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 Sihong, China on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Sihong as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.31, which is very well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, 0.43, 0.94 and 0.15. Data was not available in 1975.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Sihong spans a total of 206 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, 0.43, 0.54 and 0.31. Data was not available in 1975.

Sihong and Jiangsu 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 Jiangsu followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in Sihong fare in comparison to others in Jiangsu? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Sihong was the 84th-most disconnected out of the 87 cities in Jiangsu. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Jiangsu, street construction in Sihong has become more connected. Sihong ranked 70th in 1976-1990, 60th in 1991-2000 and 84th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Sihong 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 Sihong fare in comparison to others in China? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Sihong was the 1257th-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 Sihong has become more connected. Sihong ranked 1252nd in 1976-1990, 822nd in 1991-2000 and 1257th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Sihong and Jiangsu 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 Jiangsu peaked in 1976-1990.

To date, Sihong is the 81st-most disconnected out of the 87 cities in Jiangsu. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Jiangsu, the street network in Sihong has become more connected. Sihong ranked 73rd in 1976-1990, 69th in 1991-2000 and 81st in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Sihong 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, Sihong is the 1480th-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 Sihong has become more connected. Sihong ranked 1362nd in 1976-1990, 1354th in 1991-2000 and 1480th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Sihong had a built-up area of 23.39 square kilometers, and a population of 200895 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: