Street-network Sprawl in Morena, 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.

Morena: 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 Morena, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Morena as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 4.0, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 4.52, 3.47, 3.07 and 5.13. The disconnectivity of new streets constructed in Morena fell, then rose. In 1991-2000, new street layouts were the most connected.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Morena spans a total of 134 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 3.47, 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 4.52, 3.71, 3.59 and 4.0. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Morena has worsened in disconnectivity since 2000.

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

How do development practices in Morena fare in comparison to others in Madhya Pradesh? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Morena was the 16th-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 Morena has become more connected. Morena ranked 5th in 1975, 19th in 1976-1990, 25th in 1991-2000 and 16th in 2001-2014.

Morena and India do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Morena was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in India rose steadily.

How do development practices in Morena fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Morena was the 215th-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 Morena has become more connected. Morena ranked 119th in 1975, 324th in 1976-1990, 525th in 1991-2000 and 215th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Morena is the 26th-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 Morena has become more connected. Morena ranked 5th in 1975, 16th in 1976-1990, 19th in 1991-2000 and 26th in 2001-2014.

Morena and India do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Morena was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in India rose steadily.

To date, Morena is the 310th-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 Morena has become more connected. Morena ranked 119th in 1975, 263rd in 1976-1990, 351st in 1991-2000 and 310th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Morena had a built-up area of 8.56 square kilometers, and a population of 461836 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: