Street-network Sprawl in Alem Teferi, 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.

Alem Teferi: 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 Alem Teferi, Ethiopia on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Alem Teferi as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.82, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, nan, nan and -1.09. Data was not available in 1975, 1976-1990 and 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Alem Teferi spans a total of 9 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, nan, nan and 1.82. Data was not available in 1975, 1976-1990 and 1991-2000.

Alem Teferi 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 Alem Teferi fare in comparison to others in Oromia? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Alem Teferi was the 99th-most disconnected out of the 106 cities in Oromia. Alem Teferi ranked 99th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975, 1976-1990, and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Alem Teferi 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 Alem Teferi fare in comparison to others in Ethiopia? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Alem Teferi was the 231st-most disconnected out of the 252 cities in Ethiopia. Alem Teferi ranked 231st in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975, 1976-1990, and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Alem Teferi 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, Alem Teferi is the 37th-most disconnected out of the 106 cities in Oromia. Alem Teferi ranked 37th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975, 1976-1990, and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Alem Teferi 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, Alem Teferi is the 96th-most disconnected out of the 252 cities in Ethiopia. Alem Teferi ranked 96th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975, 1976-1990, and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Alem Teferi had a built-up area of 0.12 square kilometers, and a population of 86683 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: