Street-network Sprawl in Kadi, 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.

Kadi: 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 Kadi, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Kadi as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 3.26, 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 1.85, 1.64, nan and 4.71. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Kadi spans a total of 80 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 2001-2014. These roads have an SNDi of 4.71, 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 1.85, 1.77, 1.74 and 3.26. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Kadi has worsened in disconnectivity since 2000.

Kadi 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 Kadi fare in comparison to others in Gujarat? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Kadi was the 19th-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 Kadi has become more connected. Kadi ranked 31st in 1975, 44th in 1976-1990 and 19th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Kadi 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 Kadi fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Kadi was the 300th-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 Kadi has become more connected. Kadi ranked 514th in 1975, 811th in 1976-1990 and 300th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Kadi and Gujarat do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Kadi was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Gujarat was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

To date, Kadi is the 21st-most disconnected out of the 108 cities in Gujarat. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Gujarat, the street network in Kadi has become more disconnected. Kadi ranked 31st in 1975, 40th in 1976-1990, 46th in 1991-2000 and 21st in 2001-2014.

Kadi and India do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Kadi was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in India rose steadily.

To date, Kadi is the 541st-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 Kadi has become more connected. Kadi ranked 514th in 1975, 838th in 1976-1990, 972nd in 1991-2000 and 541st in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Kadi had a built-up area of 3.36 square kilometers, and a population of 201137 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: