Street-network Sprawl in Xinchengzi, 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.

Xinchengzi: 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 Xinchengzi, China on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Xinchengzi as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.26, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 2.14, 0.88, -0.42 and nan. Data was not available in 2001-2014.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Xinchengzi spans a total of 63 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 0.88, 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 2.14, 1.41, 1.28 and 1.26. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has fallen: the street network in Xinchengzi has become more connected.

Xinchengzi 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 Xinchengzi fare in comparison to others in Liaoning? 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 Xinchengzi has become more connected. Xinchengzi ranked 11th in 1975, 41st in 1976-1990 and 29th in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Xinchengzi 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 Xinchengzi fare in comparison to others in China? 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 Xinchengzi has become more connected. Xinchengzi ranked 455th in 1975, 1105th in 1976-1990 and 1178th in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

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

To date, Xinchengzi is the 31st-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 Xinchengzi has become more connected. Xinchengzi ranked 11th in 1975, 25th in 1976-1990, 30th in 1991-2000 and 31st in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Xinchengzi is the 1082nd-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 Xinchengzi has become more connected. Xinchengzi ranked 455th in 1975, 922nd in 1976-1990, 1017th in 1991-2000 and 1082nd in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Xinchengzi had a built-up area of 5.54 square kilometers, and a population of 95863 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: