Street-network Sprawl in Ettumanoor, 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.

Ettumanoor: city in Kerala, 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 Ettumanoor, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Ettumanoor as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 3.52, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 3.83, 3.15, 4.54 and 4.54. Disconnectivity in street construction in Ettumanoor 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 Ettumanoor spans a total of 801 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 3.15, 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 3.83, 3.17, 3.2 and 3.52. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Ettumanoor has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Ettumanoor and Kerala follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi for both of these followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in Ettumanoor fare in comparison to others in Kerala? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Ettumanoor was the 28th-most disconnected out of the 59 cities in Kerala. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Kerala, street construction in Ettumanoor has become more connected. Ettumanoor ranked 22nd in 1975, 29th in 1976-1990, 25th in 1991-2000 and 28th in 2001-2014.

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

How do development practices in Ettumanoor fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Ettumanoor was the 335th-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 Ettumanoor has become more connected. Ettumanoor ranked 187th in 1975, 412th in 1976-1990, 250th in 1991-2000 and 335th in 2001-2014.

Ettumanoor and Kerala follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

To date, Ettumanoor is the 32nd-most disconnected out of the 59 cities in Kerala. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Kerala, the street network in Ettumanoor has become more connected. Ettumanoor ranked 22nd in 1975, 28th in 1976-1990, 34th in 1991-2000 and 32nd in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Ettumanoor is the 462nd-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 Ettumanoor has become more connected. Ettumanoor ranked 187th in 1975, 396th in 1976-1990, 474th in 1991-2000 and 462nd in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Ettumanoor had a built-up area of 40.08 square kilometers, and a population of 1044045 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: