Street-network Sprawl in Heyang, 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.

Heyang: city in Zhejiang, 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 Heyang, China on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Heyang as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.15, which is very well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.18, -1.68, -0.21 and 2.36. The disconnectivity of new streets constructed in Heyang fell, then rose. In 1976-1990, new street layouts were the most connected.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Heyang spans a total of 79 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 0.18, 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 0.18, -0.64, -0.43 and 0.15. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Heyang has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Heyang and Zhejiang do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Heyang was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Zhejiang peaked in 1976-1990.

How do development practices in Heyang fare in comparison to others in Zhejiang? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Heyang was the 34th-most disconnected out of the 94 cities in Zhejiang. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Zhejiang, street construction in Heyang has become more disconnected. Heyang ranked 72nd in 1975, 92nd in 1976-1990, 70th in 1991-2000 and 34th in 2001-2014.

Heyang and China do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Heyang was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in China followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease.

How do development practices in Heyang fare in comparison to others in China? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Heyang was the 555th-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 Heyang has become more disconnected. Heyang ranked 1081st in 1975, 1497th in 1976-1990, 1134th in 1991-2000 and 555th in 2001-2014.

Heyang and Zhejiang do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Heyang was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Zhejiang peaked in 1976-1990.

To date, Heyang is the 92nd-most disconnected out of the 94 cities in Zhejiang. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Zhejiang, the street network in Heyang has become more connected. Heyang ranked 72nd in 1975, 94th in 1976-1990, 93rd in 1991-2000 and 92nd in 2001-2014.

Heyang and China do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Heyang was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in China peaked in 1976-1990.

To date, Heyang is the 1524th-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 Heyang has become more connected. Heyang ranked 1081st in 1975, 1557th in 1976-1990, 1578th in 1991-2000 and 1524th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Heyang had a built-up area of 6.87 square kilometers, and a population of 53024 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: