Street-network Sprawl in Augsburg, Germany

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.

Augsburg: city in Bayern, Germany

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 Augsburg, Germany on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Augsburg as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.73, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.67, 1.31, 1.6 and 0.89. Street construction in Augsburg increased in disconnectivity initially but has since improved. The streets constructed in 1991-2000 were the most disconnected.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Augsburg spans a total of 1080 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 0.67, 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 0.67, 0.72, 0.73 and 0.73. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Augsburg has become more disconnected. This increase has slowed: between 1975 and 1976-1990, SNDi rose by 0.05 points, but between 1991-2000 and 2001-2014, it rose by just 0.0.

Augsburg and Bayern follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi for both of these peaked in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in Augsburg fare in comparison to others in Bayern? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Augsburg was the 11th-most disconnected out of the 13 cities in Bayern. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Augsburg ranked 11th in 1975, 11th in 1976-1990, 7th in 1991-2000 and 11th in 2001-2014.

Augsburg and Germany follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi for both of these peaked in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in Augsburg fare in comparison to others in Germany? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Augsburg was the 78th-most disconnected out of the 87 cities in Germany. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Germany, street construction in Augsburg has become more connected. Augsburg ranked 77th in 1975, 76th in 1976-1990, 59th in 1991-2000 and 78th in 2001-2014.

Augsburg and Bayern follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.

To date, Augsburg is the 11th-most disconnected out of the 13 cities in Bayern. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Augsburg ranked 11th in 1975, 11th in 1976-1990, 11th in 1991-2000 and 11th in 2001-2014.

Augsburg and Germany follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.

To date, Augsburg is the 79th-most disconnected out of the 87 cities in Germany. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Germany, the street network in Augsburg has become more connected. Augsburg ranked 77th in 1975, 79th in 1976-1990, 79th in 1991-2000 and 79th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Augsburg had a built-up area of 64.57 square kilometers, and a population of 312093 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: