Street-network Sprawl in Moyale, 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.

Moyale: 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 Moyale, Ethiopia on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Moyale as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.99, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 1.99, nan, nan and 3.93. Data was not available in 1976-1990 and 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Moyale spans a total of 122 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 1.99, which is relatively well-connected.

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 1.99, 1.98, 1.98 and 1.99. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Moyale has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Moyale 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 Moyale fare in comparison to others in Oromia? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Moyale was the 12th-most disconnected out of the 106 cities in Oromia. Moyale ranked 3rd in 1975 and 12th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Moyale 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 Moyale fare in comparison to others in Ethiopia? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Moyale was the 28th-most disconnected out of the 252 cities in Ethiopia. Moyale ranked 9th in 1975 and 28th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

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

To date, Moyale is the 32nd-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 Moyale has become more connected. Moyale ranked 3rd in 1975, 6th in 1976-1990, 12th in 1991-2000 and 32nd in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Moyale is the 81st-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 Moyale has become more connected. Moyale ranked 9th in 1975, 22nd in 1976-1990, 30th in 1991-2000 and 81st in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Moyale had a built-up area of 5.67 square kilometers, and a population of 77532 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: