Street-network Sprawl in Alwar, 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.

Alwar: city in Rajasthan, 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 Alwar, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Alwar as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 3.13, 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 2.89, 2.97, 2.99 and 3.42. In each period, new street development in Alwar steadily grows more disconnected than in the last.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Alwar spans a total of 1089 kilometers. The period with the greatest volume of street construction was 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 2.97, 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 2.89, 2.96, 2.96 and 3.13. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Alwar has become more disconnected.

Alwar and Rajasthan follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.

How do development practices in Alwar fare in comparison to others in Rajasthan? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Alwar was the 28th-most disconnected out of the 135 cities in Rajasthan. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Rajasthan, street construction in Alwar has become more connected. Alwar ranked 16th in 1975, 25th in 1976-1990, 18th in 1991-2000 and 28th in 2001-2014.

Alwar and India follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.

How do development practices in Alwar fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Alwar was the 581st-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 Alwar has become more connected. Alwar ranked 319th in 1975, 455th in 1976-1990, 542nd in 1991-2000 and 581st in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Alwar is the 27th-most disconnected out of the 135 cities in Rajasthan. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Rajasthan, the street network in Alwar has become more connected. Alwar ranked 16th in 1975, 26th in 1976-1990, 25th in 1991-2000 and 27th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Alwar is the 600th-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 Alwar has become more connected. Alwar ranked 319th in 1975, 457th in 1976-1990, 549th in 1991-2000 and 600th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Alwar had a built-up area of 25.27 square kilometers, and a population of 765451 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: