Street-network Sprawl in Burhar, 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.

Burhar: city in Madhya Pradesh, 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 Burhar, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Burhar as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is -0.07, which is very well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.2, 0.02, nan and -0.6. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Burhar spans a total of 37 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 0.2, which is very well-connected.

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 0.2, 0.22, 0.24 and -0.07. The aggregate street network in Burhar increased in disconnectivity initially,but the trend has turned around after 2000.

Burhar and Madhya Pradesh 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 Madhya Pradesh was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

How do development practices in Burhar fare in comparison to others in Madhya Pradesh? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Burhar was the 79th-most disconnected out of the 97 cities in Madhya Pradesh. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Madhya Pradesh, street construction in Burhar has become more connected. Burhar ranked 37th in 1975, 46th in 1976-1990 and 79th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Burhar 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 Burhar fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Burhar was the 1202nd-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 Burhar has become more connected. Burhar ranked 764th in 1975, 1131st in 1976-1990 and 1202nd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Burhar and Madhya Pradesh do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Burhar peaked in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Madhya Pradesh was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

To date, Burhar is the 91st-most disconnected out of the 97 cities in Madhya Pradesh. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Madhya Pradesh, the street network in Burhar has become more connected. Burhar ranked 37th in 1975, 53rd in 1976-1990, 62nd in 1991-2000 and 91st in 2001-2014.

Burhar and India do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Burhar peaked in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in India rose steadily.

To date, Burhar is the 1530th-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 Burhar has become more connected. Burhar ranked 764th in 1975, 1233rd in 1976-1990, 1360th in 1991-2000 and 1530th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Burhar had a built-up area of 0.35 square kilometers, and a population of 51756 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: