Street-network Sprawl in Atmeeda, Egypt

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.

Atmeeda: city in Ad Daqahliyah, Egypt

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 Atmeeda, Egypt on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Atmeeda as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 5.47, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 5.14, 5.95, 7.64 and 7.6. Street construction in Atmeeda increased in disconnectivity initially but has since improved. The streets constructed in 1991-2000 were the most disconnected.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Atmeeda spans a total of 51 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 5.14, which is highly disconnected.

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 5.14, 5.11, 5.46 and 5.47. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Atmeeda has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Atmeeda and Ad Daqahliyah do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Atmeeda peaked in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Ad Daqahliyah rose steadily.

How do development practices in Atmeeda fare in comparison to others in Ad Daqahliyah? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Atmeeda was the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 18 cities in Ad Daqahliyah. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Ad Daqahliyah, street construction in Atmeeda has become more disconnected. Atmeeda ranked 3rd in 1975, 3rd in 1976-1990, 2nd in 1991-2000 and 2nd in 2001-2014.

Atmeeda and Egypt do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Atmeeda peaked in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Egypt followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in Atmeeda fare in comparison to others in Egypt? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Atmeeda was the 12th-most disconnected out of the 170 cities in Egypt. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Egypt, street construction in Atmeeda has become more disconnected. Atmeeda ranked 33rd in 1975, 21st in 1976-1990, 12th in 1991-2000 and 12th in 2001-2014.

Atmeeda and Ad Daqahliyah do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Atmeeda was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Ad Daqahliyah rose steadily.

To date, Atmeeda is the 4th-most disconnected out of the 18 cities in Ad Daqahliyah. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Ad Daqahliyah, the street network in Atmeeda has become more connected. Atmeeda ranked 3rd in 1975, 3rd in 1976-1990, 2nd in 1991-2000 and 4th in 2001-2014.

Atmeeda and Egypt follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

To date, Atmeeda is the 30th-most disconnected out of the 170 cities in Egypt. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Egypt, the street network in Atmeeda has become more disconnected. Atmeeda ranked 33rd in 1975, 34th in 1976-1990, 29th in 1991-2000 and 30th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Atmeeda had a built-up area of 2.13 square kilometers, and a population of 58318 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: