Street-network Sprawl in Beipiao, 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.

Beipiao: city in Liaoning, 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 Beipiao, China on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Beipiao as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 2.16, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 2.33, 2.18, nan and 8.63. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Beipiao spans a total of 119 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 2.18, 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 2.33, 2.08, 2.08 and 2.16. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Beipiao has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Beipiao and Liaoning 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 Liaoning peaked in 1976-1990.

How do development practices in Beipiao fare in comparison to others in Liaoning? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Beipiao was the 1st-most disconnected out of the 52 cities in Liaoning. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Liaoning, street construction in Beipiao has become more connected. Beipiao ranked 8th in 1975, 25th in 1976-1990 and 1st in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Beipiao 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 Beipiao fare in comparison to others in China? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Beipiao was the 10th-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 Beipiao has become more connected. Beipiao ranked 410th in 1975, 587th in 1976-1990 and 10th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

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

To date, Beipiao is the 13th-most disconnected out of the 52 cities in Liaoning. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Liaoning, the street network in Beipiao has become more connected. Beipiao ranked 8th in 1975, 17th in 1976-1990, 17th in 1991-2000 and 13th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Beipiao is the 630th-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 Beipiao has become more connected. Beipiao ranked 410th in 1975, 625th in 1976-1990, 622nd in 1991-2000 and 630th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Beipiao had a built-up area of 16.57 square kilometers, and a population of 122526 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: