Street-network Sprawl in La Romana, Dominican Republic

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.

La Romana: city in Dominican Republic

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 La Romana, Dominican Republic on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in La Romana as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.52, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.66, 0.38, 0.2 and 1.55. The disconnectivity of new streets constructed in La Romana fell, then rose. In 1991-2000, new street layouts were the most connected.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in La Romana spans a total of 548 kilometers. The period with the greatest volume of street construction was 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 0.66, 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 0.66, 0.52, 0.4 and 0.52. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but La Romana has worsened in disconnectivity since 2000.

La Romana and La Romana follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi for both of these was at its lowest in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in La Romana fare in comparison to others in La Romana? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in La Romana was the 1st-most disconnected out of the 1 cities in La Romana. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. La Romana ranked 1st in 1975, 1st in 1976-1990, 1st in 1991-2000 and 1st in 2001-2014.

La Romana and Dominican Republic do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in La Romana was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Dominican Republic followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in La Romana fare in comparison to others in Dominican Republic? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in La Romana was the 13th-most disconnected out of the 16 cities in Dominican Republic. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Dominican Republic, street construction in La Romana has become more connected. La Romana ranked 9th in 1975, 16th in 1976-1990, 15th in 1991-2000 and 13th in 2001-2014.

La Romana and La Romana follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these was at its lowest in 1991-2000.

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

La Romana and Dominican Republic do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in La Romana was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Dominican Republic rose steadily.

To date, La Romana is the 16th-most disconnected out of the 16 cities in Dominican Republic. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Dominican Republic, the street network in La Romana has become more connected. La Romana ranked 9th in 1975, 14th in 1976-1990, 16th in 1991-2000 and 16th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, La Romana had a built-up area of 21.7 square kilometers, and a population of 220136 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: