Street-network Sprawl in Amritsar, 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.

Amritsar: city in Punjab, 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 Amritsar, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Amritsar as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 3.55, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 2.74, 4.47, 5.78 and 5.52. Street construction in Amritsar increased in disconnectivity initially but has since improved. The streets constructed in 1991-2000 were the most disconnected.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Amritsar spans a total of 787 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 2.74, which is in the 40th to 60th percentile of disconnectedness.

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 2.74, 3.15, 3.32 and 3.55. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Amritsar has become more disconnected. This increase has slowed: between 1975 and 1976-1990, SNDi rose by 0.41 points, but between 1991-2000 and 2001-2014, it rose by just 0.23.

Amritsar and Punjab follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi for both of these peaked in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in Amritsar fare in comparison to others in Punjab? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Amritsar was the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 40 cities in Punjab. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Punjab, street construction in Amritsar has become more disconnected. Amritsar ranked 11th in 1975, 5th in 1976-1990, 1st in 1991-2000 and 2nd in 2001-2014.

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

How do development practices in Amritsar fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Amritsar was the 167th-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 Amritsar has become more disconnected. Amritsar ranked 345th in 1975, 157th in 1976-1990, 103rd in 1991-2000 and 167th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Amritsar is the 9th-most disconnected out of the 40 cities in Punjab. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Punjab, the street network in Amritsar has become more disconnected. Amritsar ranked 11th in 1975, 8th in 1976-1990, 8th in 1991-2000 and 9th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Amritsar is the 450th-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 Amritsar has become more connected. Amritsar ranked 345th in 1975, 404th in 1976-1990, 433rd in 1991-2000 and 450th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Amritsar had a built-up area of 62.13 square kilometers, and a population of 1209648 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: