Street-network Sprawl in Bhuj, 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.

Bhuj: city in Gujarat, 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 Bhuj, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Bhuj as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.07, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, 1.77, 1.77 and 0.98. Data was not available in 1975.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Bhuj spans a total of 198 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 2001-2014. These roads have an SNDi of 0.98, 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 nan, 1.75, 1.84 and 1.07. Data was not available in 1975.

Bhuj and Gujarat 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 Gujarat was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

How do development practices in Bhuj fare in comparison to others in Gujarat? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Bhuj was the 54th-most disconnected out of the 108 cities in Gujarat. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Gujarat, street construction in Bhuj has become more connected. Bhuj ranked 41st in 1976-1990, 41st in 1991-2000 and 54th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Bhuj 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 Bhuj fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Bhuj was the 1025th-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 Bhuj has become more connected. Bhuj ranked 776th in 1976-1990, 760th in 1991-2000 and 1025th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Bhuj and Gujarat 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 Gujarat was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

To date, Bhuj is the 65th-most disconnected out of the 108 cities in Gujarat. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Gujarat, the street network in Bhuj has become more connected. Bhuj ranked 41st in 1976-1990, 43rd in 1991-2000 and 65th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Bhuj 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, Bhuj is the 1298th-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 Bhuj has become more connected. Bhuj ranked 844th in 1976-1990, 939th in 1991-2000 and 1298th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Bhuj had a built-up area of 6.68 square kilometers, and a population of 256009 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: