Street-network Sprawl in Quwaysina, 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.

Quwaysina: 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 Quwaysina, Egypt on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Quwaysina as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 2.64, 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 3.83, 1.07, nan and nan. Data was not available in 1991-2000 and 2001-2014.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Quwaysina spans a total of 105 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 1.07, 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 3.83, 2.63, 2.63 and 2.64. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Quwaysina has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Quwaysina 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 Quwaysina fare in comparison to others in Al Minufiyah? out of the 12 cities in Al Minufiyah. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Al Minufiyah, street construction in Quwaysina has become more connected. Quwaysina ranked 9th in 1975 and 12th in 1976-1990. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Quwaysina 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 Quwaysina fare in comparison to others in Egypt? 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 Quwaysina has become more connected. Quwaysina ranked 66th in 1975 and 100th in 1976-1990. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

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

To date, Quwaysina is the 11th-most disconnected out of the 12 cities in Al Minufiyah. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Al Minufiyah, the street network in Quwaysina has become more connected. Quwaysina ranked 9th in 1975, 11th in 1976-1990, 11th in 1991-2000 and 11th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Quwaysina is the 102nd-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 Quwaysina has become more connected. Quwaysina ranked 66th in 1975, 102nd in 1976-1990, 102nd in 1991-2000 and 102nd in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Quwaysina had a built-up area of 9.9 square kilometers, and a population of 227213 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: