Street-network Sprawl in Ranchi, India

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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:

• nodal degree
• dendricity, the tree-likeness of the street network
• circuity, the ratio of the distance by road to the straight-line distance of two locations on the street network
• sinuosity, the curviness of a street

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:

• Global trends toward urban street-network sprawl
• A global assessment of street-network sprawl

To see the state of street-network sprawl across the globe, visit the sprawlmap.

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Ranchi: city in Jharkhand, 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 Ranchi, India on the sprawlmap

How have Ranchi's street networks changed over time?

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Ranchi as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 5.27, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 4.78, 5.03, 5.43 and 6.24. In each period, new street development in Ranchi steadily grows more disconnected than in the last.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Ranchi spans a total of 842 kilometers. The period with the greatest volume of street construction was 2001-2014. These roads have an SNDi of 6.24, 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 4.78, 4.85, 4.87 and 5.27. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Ranchi has become more disconnected.

Ranchi in context: Street-network sprawl of new development

Ranchi and Jharkhand follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.

How do development practices in Ranchi fare in comparison to others in Jharkhand? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Ranchi was the 3rd-most disconnected out of the 35 cities in Jharkhand. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Ranchi ranked 3rd in 1975, 2nd in 1976-1990, 5th in 1991-2000 and 3rd in 2001-2014.

Ranchi and India follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.

How do development practices in Ranchi fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Ranchi was the 92nd-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 Ranchi has become more disconnected. Ranchi ranked 98th in 1975, 98th in 1976-1990, 140th in 1991-2000 and 92nd in 2001-2014.

Ranchi in context: Aggregate street-network sprawl

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

To date, Ranchi is the 3rd-most disconnected out of the 35 cities in Jharkhand. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Ranchi ranked 3rd in 1975, 3rd in 1976-1990, 5th in 1991-2000 and 3rd in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Ranchi is the 98th-most disconnected out of the 1716 cities in India. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Ranchi ranked 98th in 1975, 91st in 1976-1990, 120th in 1991-2000 and 98th in 2001-2014.

What about other similarly-populated cities?

As of 2015, Ranchi had a built-up area of 39.56 square kilometers, and a population of 1592224 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population:

• Hamburg, Germany
• Haikou, China
• Tangshan, China