Street-network Sprawl in Poonch, 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.

Poonch: 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 Poonch, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Poonch as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.38, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, 1.56, 1.59 and 0.9. Data was not available in 1975.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Poonch spans a total of 30 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, 1.56, 1.27 and 1.38. Data was not available in 1975.

Poonch 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 Poonch fare in comparison to others in Jammu and Kashmir? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Poonch was the 13th-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 Poonch has become more disconnected. Poonch ranked 17th in 1976-1990, 14th in 1991-2000 and 13th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Poonch 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 Poonch fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Poonch was the 1037th-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 Poonch has become more connected. Poonch ranked 837th in 1976-1990, 783rd in 1991-2000 and 1037th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Poonch 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, Poonch is the 20th-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 Poonch has become more connected. Poonch ranked 18th in 1976-1990, 19th in 1991-2000 and 20th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Poonch 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, Poonch is the 1206th-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 Poonch has become more connected. Poonch ranked 906th in 1976-1990, 1103rd in 1991-2000 and 1206th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Poonch had a built-up area of 0.87 square kilometers, and a population of 126000 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: