Street-network Sprawl in Adama, Ethiopia

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.

Adama: city in Oromia, Ethiopia

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 Adama, Ethiopia on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Adama as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.21, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, 0.53, 1.03 and 1.49. Data was not available in 1975.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Adama spans a total of 878 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of nan, 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 nan, 0.53, 0.78 and 1.21. Data was not available in 1975.

Adama and Oromia 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 Oromia was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

How do development practices in Adama fare in comparison to others in Oromia? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Adama was the 46th-most disconnected out of the 106 cities in Oromia. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Oromia, street construction in Adama has become more connected. Adama ranked 16th in 1976-1990, 18th in 1991-2000 and 46th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Adama and Ethiopia 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 Ethiopia followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in Adama fare in comparison to others in Ethiopia? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Adama was the 106th-most disconnected out of the 252 cities in Ethiopia. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Ethiopia, street construction in Adama has become more connected. Adama ranked 43rd in 1976-1990, 55th in 1991-2000 and 106th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Adama and Oromia do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in Oromia was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

To date, Adama is the 58th-most disconnected out of the 106 cities in Oromia. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Oromia, the street network in Adama has become more connected. Adama ranked 18th in 1976-1990, 27th in 1991-2000 and 58th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Adama and Ethiopia do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in Ethiopia followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

To date, Adama is the 129th-most disconnected out of the 252 cities in Ethiopia. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Ethiopia, the street network in Adama has become more connected. Adama ranked 47th in 1976-1990, 72nd in 1991-2000 and 129th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Adama had a built-up area of 15.22 square kilometers, and a population of 449454 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: