Street-network Sprawl in Abu Manna Gharb, 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 Manna Gharb: city in Qina, 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 Manna Gharb, Egypt on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Abu Manna Gharb as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 6.36, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 6.15, 8.46, nan and 15.08. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Abu Manna Gharb spans a total of 128 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 6.15, 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 6.15, 6.35, 6.34 and 6.36. Disconnectivity in Abu Manna Gharb's street network follows a zig-zag trend. In 1975, the city was most disconnected; while it was most connected in 2001-2014.

Abu Manna Gharb and Qina 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 Qina followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease.

How do development practices in Abu Manna Gharb fare in comparison to others in Qina? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Abu Manna Gharb was the 1st-most disconnected out of the 7 cities in Qina. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Qina, street construction in Abu Manna Gharb has become more connected. Abu Manna Gharb ranked 1st in 1975, 2nd in 1976-1990 and 1st in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Abu Manna Gharb 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 Manna Gharb fare in comparison to others in Egypt? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Abu Manna Gharb was the 1st-most disconnected out of the 170 cities in Egypt. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Egypt, street construction in Abu Manna Gharb has become more disconnected. Abu Manna Gharb ranked 15th in 1975, 7th in 1976-1990 and 1st in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Abu Manna Gharb and Qina do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Abu Manna Gharb followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase, while the SNDi of street constructions in Qina followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease.

To date, Abu Manna Gharb is the 1st-most disconnected out of the 7 cities in Qina. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Abu Manna Gharb ranked 1st in 1975, 1st in 1976-1990, 1st in 1991-2000 and 1st in 2001-2014.

Abu Manna Gharb and Egypt do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Abu Manna Gharb followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase, while the SNDi of street constructions in Egypt was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

To date, Abu Manna Gharb is the 13th-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 Abu Manna Gharb has become more disconnected. Abu Manna Gharb ranked 15th in 1975, 14th in 1976-1990, 13th in 1991-2000 and 13th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Abu Manna Gharb had a built-up area of 3.24 square kilometers, and a population of 80379 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: