Street-network Sprawl in Xiuyan, 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.

Xiuyan: 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 Xiuyan, China on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Xiuyan as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.2, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 1.11, 2.78, nan and 0.56. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Xiuyan spans a total of 116 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 1.11, 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 1.11, 1.21, 1.24 and 1.2. The aggregate street network in Xiuyan increased in disconnectivity initially,but the trend has turned around after 2000.

Xiuyan 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 Xiuyan fare in comparison to others in Liaoning? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Xiuyan was the 24th-most disconnected out of the 52 cities in Liaoning. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Liaoning, street construction in Xiuyan has become more disconnected. Xiuyan ranked 24th in 1975, 16th in 1976-1990 and 24th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Xiuyan 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 Xiuyan fare in comparison to others in China? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Xiuyan was the 1153rd-most disconnected out of the 1651 cities in China. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in China, street construction in Xiuyan has become more disconnected. Xiuyan ranked 788th in 1975, 377th in 1976-1990 and 1153rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Xiuyan and Liaoning follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these peaked in 1991-2000.

To date, Xiuyan is the 34th-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 Xiuyan has become more connected. Xiuyan ranked 24th in 1975, 32nd in 1976-1990, 32nd in 1991-2000 and 34th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Xiuyan is the 1118th-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 Xiuyan has become more connected. Xiuyan ranked 788th in 1975, 1043rd in 1976-1990, 1040th in 1991-2000 and 1118th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Xiuyan had a built-up area of 9.31 square kilometers, and a population of 106649 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: