Street-network Sprawl in Dighwara, 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.

Dighwara: city in Bihar, 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 Dighwara, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Dighwara as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.12, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.45, 4.67, nan and nan. Data was not available in 1991-2000 and 2001-2014.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Dighwara spans a total of 11 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 0.45, 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 0.45, 1.27, 1.27 and 1.12. The aggregate street network in Dighwara increased in disconnectivity initially,but the trend has turned around after 1990.

Dighwara and Bihar 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 Bihar followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in Dighwara fare in comparison to others in Bihar? out of the 120 cities in Bihar. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Bihar, street construction in Dighwara has become more disconnected. Dighwara ranked 33rd in 1975 and 15th in 1976-1990. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Dighwara 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 Dighwara fare in comparison to others in India? out of the 1716 cities in India. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in India, street construction in Dighwara has become more disconnected. Dighwara ranked 735th in 1975 and 136th in 1976-1990. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Dighwara and Bihar do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Dighwara peaked in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Bihar rose steadily.

To date, Dighwara is the 78th-most disconnected out of the 120 cities in Bihar. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Bihar, the street network in Dighwara has become more connected. Dighwara ranked 33rd in 1975, 64th in 1976-1990, 67th in 1991-2000 and 78th in 2001-2014.

Dighwara and India do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Dighwara peaked in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in India rose steadily.

To date, Dighwara is the 1285th-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 Dighwara has become more connected. Dighwara ranked 735th in 1975, 997th in 1976-1990, 1104th in 1991-2000 and 1285th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Dighwara had a built-up area of 0.23 square kilometers, and a population of 79402 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: