Street-network Sprawl in Fushun, 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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Fushun: 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 Fushun, China on the sprawlmap

How have Fushun's street networks changed over time?

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Fushun as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.48, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 1.44, 2.13, 0.51 and 0.81. Disconnectivity in street construction in Fushun follows a zig-zag trend. In 1991-2000, street construction was most disconnected, while construction was most connected in 1976-1990.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Fushun spans a total of 652 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 1.44, 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 1.44, 1.49, 1.49 and 1.48. The aggregate street network in Fushun increased in disconnectivity initially,but the trend has turned around after 1990.

Fushun in context: Street-network sprawl of new development

Fushun and Liaoning do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Fushun followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease, while the SNDi of street constructions in Liaoning peaked in 1976-1990.

How do development practices in Fushun fare in comparison to others in Liaoning? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Fushun was the 21st-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 Fushun has become more connected. Fushun ranked 20th in 1975, 26th in 1976-1990, 17th in 1991-2000 and 21st in 2001-2014.

Fushun and China follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi for both of these followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease.

Fushun in context: Aggregate street-network sprawl

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

To date, Fushun is the 25th-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 Fushun has become more connected. Fushun ranked 20th in 1975, 24th in 1976-1990, 24th in 1991-2000 and 25th in 2001-2014.

Fushun and China follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these peaked in 1976-1990.

What about other similarly-populated cities?

As of 2015, Fushun had a built-up area of 122.26 square kilometers, and a population of 1080132 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population:

• Wuhu, China
• Tbilisi, Georgia
• Vila Velha, Brazil