Street-network Sprawl in Barranquilla, Colombia

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.

Barranquilla: city in Atlántico, Colombia

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 Barranquilla, Colombia on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Barranquilla as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.7, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.64, nan, 2.01 and 2.28. Data was not available in 1976-1990.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Barranquilla spans a total of 2273 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 0.64, 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 0.64, 0.64, 0.68 and 0.7. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Barranquilla has become more disconnected.

Barranquilla and Atlántico do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. There was not enough data from the city, as well as the Atlántico's street network construction.

How do development practices in Barranquilla fare in comparison to others in Atlántico? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Barranquilla was the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 2 cities in Atlántico. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Atlántico, street construction in Barranquilla has become more connected. Barranquilla ranked 1st in 1975, 1st in 1991-2000 and 2nd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Barranquilla and Colombia 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 Colombia was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

How do development practices in Barranquilla fare in comparison to others in Colombia? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Barranquilla was the 47th-most disconnected out of the 91 cities in Colombia. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Colombia, street construction in Barranquilla has become more connected. Barranquilla ranked 64th in 1975, 43rd in 1991-2000 and 47th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Barranquilla and Atlántico do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Barranquilla rose steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Atlántico rose steadily.

To date, Barranquilla is the 1st-most disconnected out of the 2 cities in Atlántico. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Barranquilla ranked 1st in 1975, 1st in 1976-1990, 1st in 1991-2000 and 1st in 2001-2014.

Barranquilla and Colombia do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Barranquilla rose steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Colombia rose steadily.

To date, Barranquilla is the 73rd-most disconnected out of the 91 cities in Colombia. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Colombia, the street network in Barranquilla has become more connected. Barranquilla ranked 64th in 1975, 64th in 1976-1990, 69th in 1991-2000 and 73rd in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Barranquilla had a built-up area of 95.69 square kilometers, and a population of 1912315 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: