Street-network Sprawl in Kotkapura, 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.

Kotkapura: 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 Kotkapura, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Kotkapura as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.55, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 2.07, 1.58, nan and 0.74. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Kotkapura spans a total of 61 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 2001-2014. These roads have an SNDi of 0.74, 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 2.07, 2.07, 2.05 and 1.55. The aggregate street network in Kotkapura increased in disconnectivity initially,but the trend has turned around after 1990.

Kotkapura 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 Kotkapura fare in comparison to others in Punjab? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Kotkapura was the 28th-most disconnected out of the 40 cities in Punjab. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Punjab, street construction in Kotkapura has become more connected. Kotkapura ranked 17th in 1975, 20th in 1976-1990 and 28th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Kotkapura 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 Kotkapura fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Kotkapura was the 1061st-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 Kotkapura has become more connected. Kotkapura ranked 470th in 1975, 829th in 1976-1990 and 1061st in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Kotkapura and Punjab do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Kotkapura peaked in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Punjab rose steadily.

To date, Kotkapura is the 23rd-most disconnected out of the 40 cities in Punjab. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Punjab, the street network in Kotkapura has become more connected. Kotkapura ranked 17th in 1975, 18th in 1976-1990, 20th in 1991-2000 and 23rd in 2001-2014.

Kotkapura and India do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Kotkapura peaked in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in India rose steadily.

To date, Kotkapura is the 1154th-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 Kotkapura has become more connected. Kotkapura ranked 470th in 1975, 743rd in 1976-1990, 866th in 1991-2000 and 1154th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Kotkapura had a built-up area of 6.08 square kilometers, and a population of 66737 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: