Street-network Sprawl in Barara, 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.

Barara: city in Haryana, 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 Barara, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Barara as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 2.61, 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 1.56, 1.85, 3.31 and 2.95. Street construction in Barara increased in disconnectivity initially but has since improved. The streets constructed in 1991-2000 were the most disconnected.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Barara spans a total of 50 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1991-2000. These roads have an SNDi of 3.31, 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 1.56, 1.61, 2.51 and 2.61. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Barara has become more disconnected.

Barara and Haryana do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Barara peaked in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Haryana rose steadily.

How do development practices in Barara fare in comparison to others in Haryana? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Barara was the 20th-most disconnected out of the 36 cities in Haryana. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Haryana, street construction in Barara has become more connected. Barara ranked 18th in 1975, 25th in 1976-1990, 11th in 1991-2000 and 20th in 2001-2014.

Barara and India do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Barara peaked in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in India rose steadily.

How do development practices in Barara fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Barara was the 689th-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 Barara has become more connected. Barara ranked 563rd in 1975, 761st in 1976-1990, 470th in 1991-2000 and 689th in 2001-2014.

Barara and Haryana follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.

To date, Barara is the 18th-most disconnected out of the 36 cities in Haryana. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Barara ranked 18th in 1975, 21st in 1976-1990, 17th in 1991-2000 and 18th in 2001-2014.

Barara and India follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.

To date, Barara is the 786th-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 Barara has become more connected. Barara ranked 563rd in 1975, 890th in 1976-1990, 719th in 1991-2000 and 786th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Barara had a built-up area of 1.57 square kilometers, and a population of 85415 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: