Street-network Sprawl in Daquf, Egypt

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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:

• nodal degree
• dendricity, the tree-likeness of the street network
• circuity, the ratio of the distance by road to the straight-line distance of two locations on the street network
• sinuosity, the curviness of a street

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:

• Global trends toward urban street-network sprawl
• A global assessment of street-network sprawl

To see the state of street-network sprawl across the globe, visit the sprawlmap.

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Daquf: 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 Daquf, Egypt on the sprawlmap

How have Daquf's street networks changed over time?

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Daquf as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 7.47, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 7.47, 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 Daquf spans a total of 18 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 7.47, 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 7.47, 7.47, 7.47 and 7.47. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Daquf has become more disconnected.

Daquf in context: Street-network sprawl of new development

Daquf 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 Daquf fare in comparison to others in Al Minya? out of the 22 cities in Al Minya. Daquf ranked 2nd in 1975. There was no ranking in 1976-1990, 1991-2000, and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Daquf 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 Daquf fare in comparison to others in Egypt? out of the 170 cities in Egypt. Daquf ranked 8th in 1975. There was no ranking in 1976-1990, 1991-2000, and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Daquf in context: Aggregate street-network sprawl

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

To date, Daquf is the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 22 cities in Al Minya. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Daquf ranked 2nd in 1975, 2nd in 1976-1990, 3rd in 1991-2000 and 2nd in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Daquf is the 5th-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 Daquf has become more disconnected. Daquf ranked 8th in 1975, 5th in 1976-1990, 6th in 1991-2000 and 5th in 2001-2014.

What about other similarly-populated cities?

As of 2015, Daquf had a built-up area of 3.7 square kilometers, and a population of 73096 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population:

• Kulaghat, Bangladesh
• Bragança, Brazil
• Bambamarca, Peru