Street-network Sprawl in Jining, 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.

Jining: city in Shandong, 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 Jining, China on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Jining as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.06, which is very well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are -0.14, -0.05, 0.58 and -0.42. Street construction in Jining increased in disconnectivity initially but has since improved. The streets constructed in 1991-2000 were the most disconnected.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Jining spans a total of 484 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of -0.14, which is very 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 -0.14, -0.14, 0.14 and 0.06. The aggregate street network in Jining increased in disconnectivity initially,but the trend has turned around after 2000.

Jining and Shandong do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Jining peaked in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Shandong followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in Jining fare in comparison to others in Shandong? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Jining was the 104th-most disconnected out of the 113 cities in Shandong. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Shandong, street construction in Jining has become more connected. Jining ranked 66th in 1975, 88th in 1976-1990, 66th in 1991-2000 and 104th in 2001-2014.

Jining and China do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Jining peaked in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in China followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease.

How do development practices in Jining fare in comparison to others in China? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Jining was the 1339th-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 Jining has become more connected. Jining ranked 1148th in 1975, 1374th in 1976-1990, 934th in 1991-2000 and 1339th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Jining is the 91st-most disconnected out of the 113 cities in Shandong. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Shandong, the street network in Jining has become more connected. Jining ranked 66th in 1975, 91st in 1976-1990, 89th in 1991-2000 and 91st in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Jining is the 1550th-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 Jining has become more connected. Jining ranked 1148th in 1975, 1501st in 1976-1990, 1476th in 1991-2000 and 1550th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Jining had a built-up area of 51.69 square kilometers, and a population of 724603 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: