Street-network Sprawl in Durame, 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.

Durame: city in Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples, 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 Durame, Ethiopia on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Durame as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.98, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, 0.42, 1.07 and 0.96. Data was not available in 1975.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Durame spans a total of 103 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, 0.42, 1.02 and 0.98. Data was not available in 1975.

Durame and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples 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 Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples peaked in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in Durame fare in comparison to others in Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Durame was the 33rd-most disconnected out of the 68 cities in Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples, street construction in Durame has become more connected. Durame ranked 9th in 1976-1990, 9th in 1991-2000 and 33rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Durame 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 Durame fare in comparison to others in Ethiopia? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Durame was the 136th-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 Durame has become more connected. Durame ranked 48th in 1976-1990, 49th in 1991-2000 and 136th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Durame and Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples 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 Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples peaked in 1991-2000.

To date, Durame is the 31st-most disconnected out of the 68 cities in Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples, the street network in Durame has become more connected. Durame ranked 9th in 1976-1990, 14th in 1991-2000 and 31st in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Durame 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, Durame is the 145th-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 Durame has become more connected. Durame ranked 53rd in 1976-1990, 61st in 1991-2000 and 145th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Durame had a built-up area of 0.79 square kilometers, and a population of 141303 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: