Street-network Sprawl in Palmira, 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.

Palmira: 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 Palmira, Colombia on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Palmira as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.22, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.99, nan, 1.79 and 3.01. Data was not available in 1976-1990.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Palmira spans a total of 466 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 0.99, 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 0.99, 0.99, 1.07 and 1.22. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Palmira has become more disconnected.

Palmira 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 Palmira fare in comparison to others in Valle del Cauca? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Palmira was the 3rd-most disconnected out of the 7 cities in Valle del Cauca. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Palmira ranked 3rd in 1975, 3rd in 1991-2000 and 3rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Palmira 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 Palmira fare in comparison to others in Colombia? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Palmira was the 38th-most disconnected out of the 91 cities in Colombia. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Colombia, street construction in Palmira has become more disconnected. Palmira ranked 51st in 1975, 52nd in 1991-2000 and 38th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Palmira and Valle del Cauca do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Palmira rose steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Valle del Cauca rose steadily.

To date, Palmira is the 3rd-most disconnected out of the 7 cities in Valle del Cauca. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Palmira ranked 3rd in 1975, 3rd in 1976-1990, 4th in 1991-2000 and 3rd in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Palmira is the 51st-most disconnected out of the 91 cities in Colombia. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Palmira ranked 51st in 1975, 51st in 1976-1990, 54th in 1991-2000 and 51st in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Palmira had a built-up area of 12.06 square kilometers, and a population of 218442 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: