Street-network Sprawl in Tirupati, India

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.

Tirupati: city in Andhra Pradesh, India

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 Tirupati, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Tirupati as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 2.86, which is in the 40th to 60th percentile of disconnectedness.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 2.87, nan, 2.85 and 2.97. Data was not available in 1976-1990.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Tirupati spans a total of 717 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 2.87, which is in the 40th to 60th percentile of disconnectedness.

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 2.87, 2.87, 2.87 and 2.86. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has fallen: the street network in Tirupati has become more connected. This decrease has quickened: between 1975 and 1976-1990, SNDi fell by 0.0 points, but between 1991-2000 and 2001-2014, it fell by just 0.0.

Tirupati and Andhra Pradesh 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 Andhra Pradesh rose steadily.

How do development practices in Tirupati fare in comparison to others in Andhra Pradesh? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Tirupati was the 43rd-most disconnected out of the 97 cities in Andhra Pradesh. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Andhra Pradesh, street construction in Tirupati has become more connected. Tirupati ranked 16th in 1975, 35th in 1991-2000 and 43rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Tirupati and India 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 India rose steadily.

How do development practices in Tirupati fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Tirupati was the 684th-most disconnected out of the 1716 cities in India. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in India, street construction in Tirupati has become more connected. Tirupati ranked 323rd in 1975, 571st in 1991-2000 and 684th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Tirupati and Andhra Pradesh do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Tirupati fell steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Andhra Pradesh rose steadily.

To date, Tirupati is the 44th-most disconnected out of the 97 cities in Andhra Pradesh. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Andhra Pradesh, the street network in Tirupati has become more connected. Tirupati ranked 16th in 1975, 29th in 1976-1990, 37th in 1991-2000 and 44th in 2001-2014.

Tirupati and India do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Tirupati fell steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in India rose steadily.

To date, Tirupati is the 700th-most disconnected out of the 1716 cities in India. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in India, the street network in Tirupati has become more connected. Tirupati ranked 323rd in 1975, 484th in 1976-1990, 593rd in 1991-2000 and 700th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Tirupati had a built-up area of 16.98 square kilometers, and a population of 528126 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: