Street-network Sprawl in Gonaïves, Haiti

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.

Gonaïves: city in L'Artibonite, Haiti

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 Gonaïves, Haiti on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Gonaïves as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.88, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 1.56, 1.4, nan and 4.58. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Gonaïves spans a total of 226 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 1.4, 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 1.56, 1.46, 1.47 and 1.88. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Gonaïves has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Gonaïves and L'Artibonite 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 L'Artibonite rose steadily.

How do development practices in Gonaïves fare in comparison to others in L'Artibonite? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Gonaïves was the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 6 cities in L'Artibonite. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Gonaïves ranked 3rd in 1975, 3rd in 1976-1990 and 2nd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Gonaïves and Haiti 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 Haiti peaked in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in Gonaïves fare in comparison to others in Haiti? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Gonaïves was the 6th-most disconnected out of the 22 cities in Haiti. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Haiti, street construction in Gonaïves has become more connected. Gonaïves ranked 12th in 1975, 14th in 1976-1990 and 6th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Gonaïves and L'Artibonite do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Gonaïves was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in L'Artibonite rose steadily.

To date, Gonaïves is the 3rd-most disconnected out of the 6 cities in L'Artibonite. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Gonaïves ranked 3rd in 1975, 4th in 1976-1990, 4th in 1991-2000 and 3rd in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Gonaïves is the 16th-most disconnected out of the 22 cities in Haiti. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Haiti, the street network in Gonaïves has become more connected. Gonaïves ranked 12th in 1975, 16th in 1976-1990, 17th in 1991-2000 and 16th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Gonaïves had a built-up area of 16.13 square kilometers, and a population of 282310 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: