Street-network Sprawl in Qaryat Salah al Din, 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.

Qaryat Salah al Din: 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 Qaryat Salah al Din, Egypt on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Qaryat Salah al Din as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 2.99, 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 1.29, 5.53, nan and nan. Data was not available in 1991-2000 and 2001-2014.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Qaryat Salah al Din spans a total of 53 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 1.29, 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 1.29, 3.08, 2.98 and 2.99. Disconnectivity in Qaryat Salah al Din's street network follows a zig-zag trend. In 1975, the city was most disconnected; while it was most connected in 1976-1990.

Qaryat Salah al Din 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 Qaryat Salah al Din fare in comparison to others in Al Buhayrah? out of the 11 cities in Al Buhayrah. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Al Buhayrah, street construction in Qaryat Salah al Din has become more disconnected. Qaryat Salah al Din ranked 4th in 1975 and 1st in 1976-1990. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Qaryat Salah al Din 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 Qaryat Salah al Din fare in comparison to others in Egypt? 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 Qaryat Salah al Din has become more disconnected. Qaryat Salah al Din ranked 123rd in 1975 and 32nd in 1976-1990. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Qaryat Salah al Din and Al Buhayrah do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Qaryat Salah al Din followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase, while the SNDi of street constructions in Al Buhayrah rose steadily.

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

Qaryat Salah al Din and Egypt do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Qaryat Salah al Din followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase, while the SNDi of street constructions in Egypt was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

To date, Qaryat Salah al Din is the 89th-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 Qaryat Salah al Din has become more disconnected. Qaryat Salah al Din ranked 123rd in 1975, 87th in 1976-1990, 90th in 1991-2000 and 89th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Qaryat Salah al Din had a built-up area of 3.9 square kilometers, and a population of 74321 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: