Street-network Sprawl in Murbad, 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.

Murbad: city in Maharashtra, 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 Murbad, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Murbad as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 3.25, which is in the 40th to 60th percentile of disconnectedness.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 2.45, 3.44, 0.31 and 4.37. Disconnectivity in street construction in Murbad follows a zig-zag trend. In 1991-2000, street construction was most disconnected, while construction was most connected in 2001-2014.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Murbad spans a total of 36 kilometers. The period with the greatest volume of street construction was 2001-2014. These roads have an SNDi of 4.37, 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 2.45, 2.81, 2.75 and 3.25. Disconnectivity in Murbad's street network follows a zig-zag trend. In 1975, the city was most disconnected; while it was most connected in 2001-2014.

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

How do development practices in Murbad fare in comparison to others in Maharashtra? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Murbad was the 48th-most disconnected out of the 186 cities in Maharashtra. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Maharashtra, street construction in Murbad has become more connected. Murbad ranked 28th in 1975, 25th in 1976-1990, 105th in 1991-2000 and 48th in 2001-2014.

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

How do development practices in Murbad fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Murbad was the 366th-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 Murbad has become more disconnected. Murbad ranked 399th in 1975, 332nd in 1976-1990, 934th in 1991-2000 and 366th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Murbad is the 55th-most disconnected out of the 186 cities in Maharashtra. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Maharashtra, the street network in Murbad has become more connected. Murbad ranked 28th in 1975, 46th in 1976-1990, 61st in 1991-2000 and 55th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Murbad is the 543rd-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 Murbad has become more connected. Murbad ranked 399th in 1975, 507th in 1976-1990, 632nd in 1991-2000 and 543rd in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Murbad had a built-up area of 0.85 square kilometers, and a population of 186740 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: