Street-network Sprawl in Fuwah, 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.

Fuwah: city in Al Buhayrah, 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 Fuwah, Egypt on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Fuwah as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 2.7, which is in the 40th to 60th percentile of disconnectedness.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 2.63, 3.8, nan and 1.47. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Fuwah spans a total of 126 kilometers. The period with the greatest volume of street construction was 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 2.63, which is in the 40th to 60th percentile of disconnectedness.

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 2.63, 2.91, 2.9 and 2.7. The aggregate street network in Fuwah increased in disconnectivity initially,but the trend has turned around after 1990.

Fuwah and Al Buhayrah 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 Al Buhayrah rose steadily.

How do development practices in Fuwah fare in comparison to others in Al Buhayrah? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Fuwah was the 5th-most disconnected out of the 11 cities in Al Buhayrah. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Fuwah ranked 3rd in 1975, 3rd in 1976-1990 and 5th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Fuwah and Egypt 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 Egypt followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in Fuwah fare in comparison to others in Egypt? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Fuwah was the 77th-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 Fuwah has become more disconnected. Fuwah ranked 90th in 1975, 59th in 1976-1990 and 77th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Fuwah and Al Buhayrah do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Fuwah peaked in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Al Buhayrah rose steadily.

To date, Fuwah is the 4th-most disconnected out of the 11 cities in Al Buhayrah. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Al Buhayrah, the street network in Fuwah has become more connected. Fuwah ranked 3rd in 1975, 5th in 1976-1990, 5th in 1991-2000 and 4th in 2001-2014.

Fuwah and Egypt do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Fuwah peaked in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Egypt was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

To date, Fuwah is the 99th-most disconnected out of the 170 cities in Egypt. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Egypt, the street network in Fuwah has become more connected. Fuwah ranked 90th in 1975, 92nd in 1976-1990, 93rd in 1991-2000 and 99th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Fuwah had a built-up area of 6.98 square kilometers, and a population of 203506 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: