Street-network Sprawl in Shorapur, 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.

Shorapur: city in Karnataka, 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 Shorapur, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Shorapur as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 4.42, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 2.48, 5.02, nan and 4.14. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Shorapur spans a total of 59 kilometers. The period with the greatest volume of street construction was 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 5.02, 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 2.48, 4.57, 4.41 and 4.42. Disconnectivity in Shorapur's street network follows a zig-zag trend. In 1975, the city was most disconnected; while it was most connected in 1976-1990.

Shorapur and Karnataka 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 Karnataka rose steadily.

How do development practices in Shorapur fare in comparison to others in Karnataka? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Shorapur was the 30th-most disconnected out of the 147 cities in Karnataka. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Karnataka, street construction in Shorapur has become more disconnected. Shorapur ranked 32nd in 1975, 9th in 1976-1990 and 30th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Shorapur 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 Shorapur fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Shorapur was the 419th-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 Shorapur has become more disconnected. Shorapur ranked 393rd in 1975, 102nd in 1976-1990 and 419th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Shorapur and Karnataka do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Shorapur followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase, while the SNDi of street constructions in Karnataka rose steadily.

To date, Shorapur is the 8th-most disconnected out of the 147 cities in Karnataka. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Karnataka, the street network in Shorapur has become more disconnected. Shorapur ranked 32nd in 1975, 7th in 1976-1990, 8th in 1991-2000 and 8th in 2001-2014.

Shorapur and India do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Shorapur followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase, while the SNDi of street constructions in India rose steadily.

To date, Shorapur is the 207th-most disconnected out of the 1716 cities in India. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in India, the street network in Shorapur has become more disconnected. Shorapur ranked 393rd in 1975, 129th in 1976-1990, 175th in 1991-2000 and 207th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Shorapur had a built-up area of 2.12 square kilometers, and a population of 89596 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: