Street-network Sprawl in Al-Qobabat, 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.

Al-Qobabat: city in Al Jizah, 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 Al-Qobabat, Egypt on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Al-Qobabat as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 5.96, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 6.79, 6.12, nan and 4.4. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Al-Qobabat spans a total of 42 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 6.79, 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 6.79, 6.44, 6.25 and 5.96. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has fallen: the street network in Al-Qobabat has become more connected.

Al-Qobabat and Al Jizah 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 Jizah peaked in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in Al-Qobabat fare in comparison to others in Al Jizah? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Al-Qobabat was the 1st-most disconnected out of the 6 cities in Al Jizah. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Al-Qobabat ranked 1st in 1975, 1st in 1976-1990 and 1st in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Al-Qobabat 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 Al-Qobabat fare in comparison to others in Egypt? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Al-Qobabat was the 46th-most disconnected out of the 170 cities in Egypt. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Egypt, street construction in Al-Qobabat has become more connected. Al-Qobabat ranked 10th in 1975, 18th in 1976-1990 and 46th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Al-Qobabat and Al Jizah do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Al-Qobabat fell steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Al Jizah rose steadily.

To date, Al-Qobabat is the 1st-most disconnected out of the 6 cities in Al Jizah. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Al-Qobabat ranked 1st in 1975, 1st in 1976-1990, 1st in 1991-2000 and 1st in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Al-Qobabat is the 17th-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 Al-Qobabat has become more connected. Al-Qobabat ranked 10th in 1975, 13th in 1976-1990, 14th in 1991-2000 and 17th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Al-Qobabat had a built-up area of 7.69 square kilometers, and a population of 134765 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: