Street-network Sprawl in Anantnag, 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.

Anantnag: city in Jammu and Kashmir, 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 Anantnag, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Anantnag as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 2.67, 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 nan, 2.57, 5.07 and 3.81. Data was not available in 1975.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Anantnag spans a total of 146 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 2.57, 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 nan, 2.56, 2.61 and 2.67. Data was not available in 1975.

Anantnag and Jammu and Kashmir 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 Jammu and Kashmir followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in Anantnag fare in comparison to others in Jammu and Kashmir? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Anantnag was the 9th-most disconnected out of the 22 cities in Jammu and Kashmir. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Jammu and Kashmir, street construction in Anantnag has become more disconnected. Anantnag ranked 14th in 1976-1990, 8th in 1991-2000 and 9th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Anantnag 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 Anantnag fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Anantnag was the 486th-most disconnected out of the 1716 cities in India. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in India, street construction in Anantnag has become more disconnected. Anantnag ranked 570th in 1976-1990, 175th in 1991-2000 and 486th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Anantnag and Jammu and Kashmir 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 Jammu and Kashmir was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

To date, Anantnag is the 17th-most disconnected out of the 22 cities in Jammu and Kashmir. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Jammu and Kashmir, the street network in Anantnag has become more connected. Anantnag ranked 14th in 1976-1990, 14th in 1991-2000 and 17th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Anantnag 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, Anantnag is the 763rd-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 Anantnag has become more connected. Anantnag ranked 588th in 1976-1990, 685th in 1991-2000 and 763rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Anantnag had a built-up area of 10.58 square kilometers, and a population of 328042 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: