Street-network Sprawl in Harnaut, 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.

Harnaut: 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 Harnaut, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Harnaut as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 4.68, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 6.8, 3.25, nan and 4.61. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Harnaut spans a total of 39 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 3.25, 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 6.8, 4.32, 4.71 and 4.68. Disconnectivity in Harnaut's street network follows a zig-zag trend. In 1976-1990, the city was most disconnected; while it was most connected in 1975.

Harnaut 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 Harnaut fare in comparison to others in Bihar? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Harnaut was the 14th-most disconnected out of the 120 cities in Bihar. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Bihar, street construction in Harnaut has become more connected. Harnaut ranked 3rd in 1975, 34th in 1976-1990 and 14th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Harnaut 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 Harnaut fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Harnaut was the 318th-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 Harnaut has become more connected. Harnaut ranked 21st in 1975, 381st in 1976-1990 and 318th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Harnaut and Bihar do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Harnaut followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease, while the SNDi of street constructions in Bihar rose steadily.

To date, Harnaut is the 11th-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 Harnaut has become more connected. Harnaut ranked 3rd in 1975, 16th in 1976-1990, 11th in 1991-2000 and 11th in 2001-2014.

Harnaut and India do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Harnaut followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease, while the SNDi of street constructions in India rose steadily.

To date, Harnaut is the 164th-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 Harnaut has become more connected. Harnaut ranked 21st in 1975, 165th in 1976-1990, 135th in 1991-2000 and 164th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Harnaut had a built-up area of 0.62 square kilometers, and a population of 68613 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: