Street-network Sprawl in Nabha, 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.

Nabha: 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 Nabha, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Nabha as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 3.3, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 3.32, 2.88, 5.45 and 3.88. Disconnectivity in street construction in Nabha follows a zig-zag trend. In 1976-1990, street construction was most disconnected, while construction was most connected in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Nabha spans a total of 126 kilometers. The period with the greatest volume of street construction was 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 3.32, 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 3.32, 3.26, 3.28 and 3.3. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Nabha has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Nabha and Punjab do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Nabha followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase, while the SNDi of street constructions in Punjab peaked in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in Nabha fare in comparison to others in Punjab? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Nabha was the 10th-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 Nabha has become more connected. Nabha ranked 7th in 1975, 13th in 1976-1990, 2nd in 1991-2000 and 10th in 2001-2014.

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

How do development practices in Nabha fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Nabha was the 475th-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 Nabha has become more connected. Nabha ranked 255th in 1975, 480th in 1976-1990, 136th in 1991-2000 and 475th in 2001-2014.

Nabha and Punjab do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Nabha was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Punjab rose steadily.

To date, Nabha is the 11th-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 Nabha has become more connected. Nabha ranked 7th in 1975, 7th in 1976-1990, 9th in 1991-2000 and 11th in 2001-2014.

Nabha and India do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Nabha was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in India rose steadily.

To date, Nabha is the 525th-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 Nabha has become more connected. Nabha ranked 255th in 1975, 374th in 1976-1990, 443rd in 1991-2000 and 525th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Nabha had a built-up area of 6.39 square kilometers, and a population of 111268 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: