Street-network Sprawl in An Nazlah, 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.

An Nazlah: city in Ash Sharqiyah, 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 An Nazlah, Egypt on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in An Nazlah as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 5.52, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 5.43, 5.75, 4.43 and 5.44. Disconnectivity in street construction in An Nazlah follows a zig-zag trend. In 1991-2000, street construction was most disconnected, while construction was most connected in 1976-1990.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in An Nazlah spans a total of 525 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 5.75, 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 5.43, 5.54, 5.52 and 5.52. The aggregate street network in An Nazlah increased in disconnectivity initially,but the trend has turned around after 1990.

An Nazlah and Ash Sharqiyah follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi for both of these followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in An Nazlah fare in comparison to others in Ash Sharqiyah? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in An Nazlah was the 4th-most disconnected out of the 12 cities in Ash Sharqiyah. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Ash Sharqiyah, street construction in An Nazlah has become more connected. An Nazlah ranked 2nd in 1975, 4th in 1976-1990, 5th in 1991-2000 and 4th in 2001-2014.

An Nazlah and Egypt do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in An Nazlah followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase, while the SNDi of street constructions in Egypt followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in An Nazlah fare in comparison to others in Egypt? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in An Nazlah was the 38th-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 An Nazlah has become more connected. An Nazlah ranked 26th in 1975, 27th in 1976-1990, 30th in 1991-2000 and 38th in 2001-2014.

An Nazlah and Ash Sharqiyah do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in An Nazlah peaked in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Ash Sharqiyah followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

To date, An Nazlah is the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 12 cities in Ash Sharqiyah. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. An Nazlah ranked 2nd in 1975, 2nd in 1976-1990, 2nd in 1991-2000 and 2nd in 2001-2014.

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

To date, An Nazlah is the 27th-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 An Nazlah has become more connected. An Nazlah ranked 26th in 1975, 25th in 1976-1990, 26th in 1991-2000 and 27th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, An Nazlah had a built-up area of 28.51 square kilometers, and a population of 633194 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: