Street-network Sprawl in Malappuram, 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.

Malappuram: 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 Malappuram, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Malappuram as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 3.35, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, 2.47, 3.03 and 6.73. Data was not available in 1975.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Malappuram spans a total of 394 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, 2.47, 2.75 and 3.35. Data was not available in 1975.

Malappuram and Kerala 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 Kerala followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in Malappuram fare in comparison to others in Kerala? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Malappuram was the 7th-most disconnected out of the 59 cities in Kerala. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Kerala, street construction in Malappuram has become more disconnected. Malappuram ranked 39th in 1976-1990, 39th in 1991-2000 and 7th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Malappuram 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 Malappuram fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Malappuram was the 67th-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 Malappuram has become more disconnected. Malappuram ranked 597th in 1976-1990, 532nd in 1991-2000 and 67th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Malappuram and Kerala 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 Kerala was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

To date, Malappuram is the 34th-most disconnected out of the 59 cities in Kerala. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Kerala, the street network in Malappuram has become more disconnected. Malappuram ranked 40th in 1976-1990, 44th in 1991-2000 and 34th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Malappuram 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, Malappuram is the 510th-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 Malappuram has become more disconnected. Malappuram ranked 618th in 1976-1990, 633rd in 1991-2000 and 510th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Malappuram had a built-up area of 17.47 square kilometers, and a population of 607384 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: