Street-network Sprawl in Lushan, China

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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:

• nodal degree
• dendricity, the tree-likeness of the street network
• circuity, the ratio of the distance by road to the straight-line distance of two locations on the street network
• sinuosity, the curviness of a street

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:

• Global trends toward urban street-network sprawl
• A global assessment of street-network sprawl

To see the state of street-network sprawl across the globe, visit the sprawlmap.

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Lushan: city in Jiangxi, 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 Lushan, China on the sprawlmap

How have Lushan's street networks changed over time?

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Lushan as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.88, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 2.56, 1.75, 0.04 and 1.92. The disconnectivity of new streets constructed in Lushan fell, then rose. In 1991-2000, new street layouts were the most connected.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Lushan spans a total of 45 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 2001-2014. These roads have an SNDi of 1.92, 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 2.56, 1.94, 1.82 and 1.88. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Lushan has worsened in disconnectivity since 2000.

Lushan in context: Street-network sprawl of new development

Lushan and Jiangxi do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Lushan was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Jiangxi peaked in 1976-1990.

How do development practices in Lushan fare in comparison to others in Jiangxi? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Lushan was the 34th-most disconnected out of the 74 cities in Jiangxi. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Jiangxi, street construction in Lushan has become more connected. Lushan ranked 18th in 1975, 42nd in 1976-1990, 47th in 1991-2000 and 34th in 2001-2014.

Lushan and China do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Lushan was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in China followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease.

Lushan in context: Aggregate street-network sprawl

Lushan and Jiangxi do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Lushan was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Jiangxi peaked in 1976-1990.

To date, Lushan is the 41st-most disconnected out of the 74 cities in Jiangxi. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Jiangxi, the street network in Lushan has become more connected. Lushan ranked 18th in 1975, 38th in 1976-1990, 43rd in 1991-2000 and 41st in 2001-2014.

Lushan and China do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Lushan was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in China peaked in 1976-1990.

What about other similarly-populated cities?

As of 2015, Lushan had a built-up area of 5.13 square kilometers, and a population of 57751 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population:

• 筠连县, China
• Thung Song, Thailand
• Ont’an-nodongjagu, North Korea