Street-network Sprawl in Neiva, Colombia

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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:

• nodal degree
• dendricity, the tree-likeness of the street network
• circuity, the ratio of the distance by road to the straight-line distance of two locations on the street network
• sinuosity, the curviness of a street

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:

• Global trends toward urban street-network sprawl
• A global assessment of street-network sprawl

To see the state of street-network sprawl across the globe, visit the sprawlmap.

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Neiva: city in Huila, 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 Neiva, Colombia on the sprawlmap

How have Neiva's street networks changed over time?

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Neiva as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.01, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.83, nan, 1.87 and nan. Data was not available in 1976-1990 and 2001-2014.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Neiva spans a total of 754 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 0.83, 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 0.83, 0.83, 1.01 and 1.01. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Neiva has become more disconnected.

Neiva in context: Street-network sprawl of new development

Neiva and Huila 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 Huila's street network construction.

How do development practices in Neiva fare in comparison to others in Huila? out of the 4 cities in Huila. Neiva ranked 3rd in 1975 and 2nd in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Neiva 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 Neiva fare in comparison to others in Colombia? out of the 91 cities in Colombia. Neiva ranked 54th in 1975 and 50th in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Neiva in context: Aggregate street-network sprawl

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

To date, Neiva is the 3rd-most disconnected out of the 4 cities in Huila. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Neiva ranked 3rd in 1975, 3rd in 1976-1990, 3rd in 1991-2000 and 3rd in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Neiva is the 58th-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 Neiva has become more connected. Neiva ranked 54th in 1975, 54th in 1976-1990, 57th in 1991-2000 and 58th in 2001-2014.

What about other similarly-populated cities?

As of 2015, Neiva had a built-up area of 16.9 square kilometers, and a population of 328759 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population:

• Muzaffarabad, Pakistan
• Gwagwalada, Nigeria
• Ciudad Obregón, Mexico