Street-network Sprawl in Manjeshwar, 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.

Manjeshwar: 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 Manjeshwar, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Manjeshwar as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 5.21, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 4.46, 4.95, 8.01 and nan. Data was not available in 2001-2014.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Manjeshwar spans a total of 225 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 4.95, 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 4.46, 4.78, 5.2 and 5.21. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Manjeshwar has become more disconnected. This increase has slowed: between 1975 and 1976-1990, SNDi rose by 0.32 points, but between 1991-2000 and 2001-2014, it rose by just 0.01.

Manjeshwar 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 Manjeshwar fare in comparison to others in Kerala? 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 Manjeshwar has become more disconnected. Manjeshwar ranked 13th in 1975, 6th in 1976-1990 and 1st in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Manjeshwar 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 Manjeshwar fare in comparison to others in India? 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 Manjeshwar has become more disconnected. Manjeshwar ranked 125th in 1975, 105th in 1976-1990 and 23rd in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

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

To date, Manjeshwar is 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, the street network in Manjeshwar has become more disconnected. Manjeshwar ranked 13th in 1975, 5th in 1976-1990, 6th in 1991-2000 and 7th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Manjeshwar is the 101st-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 Manjeshwar has become more disconnected. Manjeshwar ranked 125th in 1975, 102nd in 1976-1990, 82nd in 1991-2000 and 101st in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Manjeshwar had a built-up area of 12.2 square kilometers, and a population of 255981 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: