Street-network Sprawl in Kafr al Hajj Daud, 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.

Kafr al Hajj Daud: city in Al Minufiyah, 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 Kafr al Hajj Daud, Egypt on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Kafr al Hajj Daud as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 5.85, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 5.82, 6.01, nan and 2.67. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Kafr al Hajj Daud spans a total of 99 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 5.82, 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 5.82, 5.88, 5.88 and 5.85. The aggregate street network in Kafr al Hajj Daud increased in disconnectivity initially,but the trend has turned around after 1990.

Kafr al Hajj Daud and Al Minufiyah 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 Minufiyah followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease.

How do development practices in Kafr al Hajj Daud fare in comparison to others in Al Minufiyah? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Kafr al Hajj Daud was the 9th-most disconnected out of the 12 cities in Al Minufiyah. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Al Minufiyah, street construction in Kafr al Hajj Daud has become more disconnected. Kafr al Hajj Daud ranked 5th in 1975, 3rd in 1976-1990 and 9th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Kafr al Hajj Daud 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 Kafr al Hajj Daud fare in comparison to others in Egypt? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Kafr al Hajj Daud was the 64th-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 Kafr al Hajj Daud has become more connected. Kafr al Hajj Daud ranked 17th in 1975, 19th in 1976-1990 and 64th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Kafr al Hajj Daud and Al Minufiyah do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Kafr al Hajj Daud peaked in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Al Minufiyah peaked in 1976-1990.

To date, Kafr al Hajj Daud is the 4th-most disconnected out of the 12 cities in Al Minufiyah. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Al Minufiyah, the street network in Kafr al Hajj Daud has become more disconnected. Kafr al Hajj Daud ranked 5th in 1975, 4th in 1976-1990, 4th in 1991-2000 and 4th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Kafr al Hajj Daud is the 18th-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 Kafr al Hajj Daud has become more connected. Kafr al Hajj Daud ranked 17th in 1975, 19th in 1976-1990, 19th in 1991-2000 and 18th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Kafr al Hajj Daud had a built-up area of 3.08 square kilometers, and a population of 86419 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: