Street-network Sprawl in Cartago, 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.

Cartago: city in Valle del Cauca, 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 Cartago, Colombia on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Cartago as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.19, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 1.18, nan, nan and 0.37. Data was not available in 1976-1990 and 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Cartago spans a total of 143 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 1.18, 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 1.18, 1.18, 1.2 and 1.19. Disconnectivity in Cartago's street network follows a zig-zag trend. In 1975, the city was most disconnected; while it was most connected in 1991-2000.

Cartago and Valle del Cauca 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 Valle del Cauca's street network construction.

How do development practices in Cartago fare in comparison to others in Valle del Cauca? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Cartago was the 7th-most disconnected out of the 7 cities in Valle del Cauca. Cartago ranked 2nd in 1975 and 7th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Cartago 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 Cartago fare in comparison to others in Colombia? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Cartago was the 64th-most disconnected out of the 91 cities in Colombia. Cartago ranked 46th in 1975 and 64th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Cartago and Valle del Cauca do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Cartago followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase, while the SNDi of street constructions in Valle del Cauca rose steadily.

To date, Cartago is the 4th-most disconnected out of the 7 cities in Valle del Cauca. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Valle del Cauca, the street network in Cartago has become more connected. Cartago ranked 2nd in 1975, 2nd in 1976-1990, 3rd in 1991-2000 and 4th in 2001-2014.

Cartago and Colombia do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Cartago followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase, while the SNDi of street constructions in Colombia rose steadily.

To date, Cartago is the 52nd-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 Cartago has become more connected. Cartago ranked 46th in 1975, 46th in 1976-1990, 49th in 1991-2000 and 52nd in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Cartago had a built-up area of 4.33 square kilometers, and a population of 125921 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: