Street-network Sprawl in Ponda, 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.

Ponda: city in Goa, 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 Ponda, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Ponda as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 4.67, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, 3.83, 5.04 and 4.72. Data was not available in 1975.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Ponda spans a total of 95 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of nan, which is highly disconnected.

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 nan, 3.83, 4.14 and 4.67. Data was not available in 1975.

Ponda and Goa 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 Goa followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in Ponda fare in comparison to others in Goa? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Ponda was the 4th-most disconnected out of the 4 cities in Goa. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Goa, street construction in Ponda has become more connected. Ponda ranked 3rd in 1976-1990, 2nd in 1991-2000 and 4th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Ponda 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 Ponda fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Ponda was the 298th-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 Ponda has become more connected. Ponda ranked 249th in 1976-1990, 179th in 1991-2000 and 298th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Ponda and Goa do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in Goa was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

To date, Ponda is the 3rd-most disconnected out of the 4 cities in Goa. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Ponda ranked 3rd in 1976-1990, 3rd in 1991-2000 and 3rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Ponda and India do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in India rose steadily.

To date, Ponda is the 167th-most disconnected out of the 1716 cities in India. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in India, the street network in Ponda has become more disconnected. Ponda ranked 243rd in 1976-1990, 220th in 1991-2000 and 167th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Ponda had a built-up area of 4.33 square kilometers, and a population of 62305 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: