Street-network Sprawl in Sirsi, 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.

Sirsi: 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 Sirsi, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Sirsi as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 3.94, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 3.14, 2.75, 4.33 and 4.25. Disconnectivity in street construction in Sirsi follows a zig-zag trend. In 1976-1990, street construction was most disconnected, while construction was most connected in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Sirsi spans a total of 117 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 2001-2014. These roads have an SNDi of 4.25, 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 3.14, 3.0, 3.54 and 3.94. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Sirsi has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

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

How do development practices in Sirsi fare in comparison to others in Karnataka? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Sirsi was the 27th-most disconnected out of the 147 cities in Karnataka. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Karnataka, street construction in Sirsi has become more connected. Sirsi ranked 20th in 1975, 33rd in 1976-1990, 17th in 1991-2000 and 27th in 2001-2014.

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

How do development practices in Sirsi fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Sirsi was the 393rd-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 Sirsi has become more connected. Sirsi ranked 283rd in 1975, 516th in 1976-1990, 283rd in 1991-2000 and 393rd in 2001-2014.

Sirsi and Karnataka do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Sirsi was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Karnataka rose steadily.

To date, Sirsi is the 15th-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 Sirsi has become more disconnected. Sirsi ranked 20th in 1975, 25th in 1976-1990, 18th in 1991-2000 and 15th in 2001-2014.

Sirsi and India do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Sirsi was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in India rose steadily.

To date, Sirsi is the 322nd-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 Sirsi has become more connected. Sirsi ranked 283rd in 1975, 446th in 1976-1990, 364th in 1991-2000 and 322nd in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Sirsi had a built-up area of 2.65 square kilometers, and a population of 162083 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: