Street-network Sprawl in Santa Cruz del Quiché, Guatemala

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.

Santa Cruz del Quiché: city in Quiché, Guatemala

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 Santa Cruz del Quiché, Guatemala on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Santa Cruz del Quiché as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.13, which is very well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are -0.28, 3.98, nan and 4.9. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Santa Cruz del Quiché spans a total of 136 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of -0.28, which is very 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 -0.28, -0.24, -0.21 and 0.13. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Santa Cruz del Quiché has become more disconnected.

Santa Cruz del Quiché and Quiché 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 Quiché rose steadily.

How do development practices in Santa Cruz del Quiché fare in comparison to others in Quiché? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Santa Cruz del Quiché was the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 5 cities in Quiché. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Santa Cruz del Quiché ranked 2nd in 1975, 2nd in 1976-1990 and 2nd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Santa Cruz del Quiché and Guatemala 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 Guatemala rose steadily.

How do development practices in Santa Cruz del Quiché fare in comparison to others in Guatemala? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Santa Cruz del Quiché was the 19th-most disconnected out of the 45 cities in Guatemala. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Guatemala, street construction in Santa Cruz del Quiché has become more disconnected. Santa Cruz del Quiché ranked 31st in 1975, 14th in 1976-1990 and 19th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Santa Cruz del Quiché and Quiché follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.

To date, Santa Cruz del Quiché is the 5th-most disconnected out of the 5 cities in Quiché. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Quiché, the street network in Santa Cruz del Quiché has become more connected. Santa Cruz del Quiché ranked 2nd in 1975, 5th in 1976-1990, 5th in 1991-2000 and 5th in 2001-2014.

Santa Cruz del Quiché and Guatemala follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.

To date, Santa Cruz del Quiché is the 45th-most disconnected out of the 45 cities in Guatemala. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Guatemala, the street network in Santa Cruz del Quiché has become more connected. Santa Cruz del Quiché ranked 31st in 1975, 44th in 1976-1990, 44th in 1991-2000 and 45th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Santa Cruz del Quiché had a built-up area of 2.34 square kilometers, and a population of 120184 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: