Street-network Sprawl in Barnala, 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.

Barnala: 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 Barnala, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Barnala as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.56, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 1.08, nan, -1.82 and 1.92. Data was not available in 1976-1990.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Barnala spans a total of 156 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 2001-2014. These roads have an SNDi of 1.92, which is relatively 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 1.08, 1.1, 1.04 and 1.56. Disconnectivity in Barnala's street network follows a zig-zag trend. In 1991-2000, the city was most disconnected; while it was most connected in 2001-2014.

Barnala and Punjab 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 Punjab peaked in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in Barnala fare in comparison to others in Punjab? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Barnala was the 23rd-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 Barnala has become more disconnected. Barnala ranked 22nd in 1975, 29th in 1991-2000 and 23rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Barnala 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 Barnala fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Barnala was the 900th-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 Barnala has become more disconnected. Barnala ranked 634th in 1975, 1064th in 1991-2000 and 900th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

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

To date, Barnala is the 22nd-most disconnected out of the 40 cities in Punjab. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Barnala ranked 22nd in 1975, 24th in 1976-1990, 25th in 1991-2000 and 22nd in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Barnala is the 1150th-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 Barnala has become more connected. Barnala ranked 634th in 1975, 1037th in 1976-1990, 1168th in 1991-2000 and 1150th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Barnala had a built-up area of 10.3 square kilometers, and a population of 138147 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: