Street-network Sprawl in Hanggin Rear Banner, 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.

Hanggin Rear Banner: city in Nei Mongol, 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 Hanggin Rear Banner, China on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Hanggin Rear Banner as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 2.17, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, 1.81, 1.96 and 2.83. Data was not available in 1975.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Hanggin Rear Banner spans a total of 81 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of nan, which is highly disconnected.

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 nan, 1.81, 1.81 and 2.17. Data was not available in 1975.

Hanggin Rear Banner and Nei Mongol 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 Nei Mongol followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease.

How do development practices in Hanggin Rear Banner fare in comparison to others in Nei Mongol? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Hanggin Rear Banner was the 17th-most disconnected out of the 45 cities in Nei Mongol. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Nei Mongol, street construction in Hanggin Rear Banner has become more disconnected. Hanggin Rear Banner ranked 29th in 1976-1990, 24th in 1991-2000 and 17th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Hanggin Rear Banner 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 Hanggin Rear Banner fare in comparison to others in China? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Hanggin Rear Banner was the 425th-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 Hanggin Rear Banner has become more disconnected. Hanggin Rear Banner ranked 739th in 1976-1990, 502nd in 1991-2000 and 425th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Hanggin Rear Banner and Nei Mongol do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in Nei Mongol fell steadily.

To date, Hanggin Rear Banner is the 27th-most disconnected out of the 45 cities in Nei Mongol. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Nei Mongol, the street network in Hanggin Rear Banner has become more disconnected. Hanggin Rear Banner ranked 30th in 1976-1990, 32nd in 1991-2000 and 27th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Hanggin Rear Banner and China do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in China peaked in 1976-1990.

To date, Hanggin Rear Banner is the 626th-most disconnected out of the 1651 cities in China. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in China, the street network in Hanggin Rear Banner has become more disconnected. Hanggin Rear Banner ranked 740th in 1976-1990, 747th in 1991-2000 and 626th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Hanggin Rear Banner had a built-up area of 9.03 square kilometers, and a population of 62323 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: