Street-network Sprawl in Abu Qurqas, 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.

Abu Qurqas: city in Al Minya, 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 Abu Qurqas, Egypt on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Abu Qurqas as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 5.47, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 5.47, nan, nan and nan. Data was not available in 1976-1990, 1991-2000 and 2001-2014.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Abu Qurqas spans a total of 164 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 5.47, 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 5.47, 5.47, 5.47 and 5.47. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Abu Qurqas has become more disconnected.

Abu Qurqas and Al Minya 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 Minya peaked in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in Abu Qurqas fare in comparison to others in Al Minya? out of the 22 cities in Al Minya. Abu Qurqas ranked 6th in 1975. There was no ranking in 1976-1990, 1991-2000, and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Abu Qurqas 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 Abu Qurqas fare in comparison to others in Egypt? out of the 170 cities in Egypt. Abu Qurqas ranked 25th in 1975. There was no ranking in 1976-1990, 1991-2000, and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Abu Qurqas and Al Minya do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Abu Qurqas rose steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Al Minya rose steadily.

To date, Abu Qurqas is the 9th-most disconnected out of the 22 cities in Al Minya. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Al Minya, the street network in Abu Qurqas has become more connected. Abu Qurqas ranked 6th in 1975, 8th in 1976-1990, 9th in 1991-2000 and 9th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Abu Qurqas is the 31st-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 Abu Qurqas has become more connected. Abu Qurqas ranked 25th in 1975, 28th in 1976-1990, 28th in 1991-2000 and 31st in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Abu Qurqas had a built-up area of 5.03 square kilometers, and a population of 127763 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: