Street-network Sprawl in Chittorgarh, 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.

Chittorgarh: 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 Chittorgarh, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Chittorgarh as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 3.34, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 3.24, 2.58, nan and 5.96. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Chittorgarh spans a total of 109 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 3.24, 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 3.24, 3.09, 3.23 and 3.34. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Chittorgarh has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Chittorgarh and Rajasthan 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 Rajasthan rose steadily.

How do development practices in Chittorgarh fare in comparison to others in Rajasthan? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Chittorgarh was the 1st-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 Chittorgarh has become more connected. Chittorgarh ranked 13th in 1975, 32nd in 1976-1990 and 1st in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Chittorgarh 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 Chittorgarh fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Chittorgarh was the 115th-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 Chittorgarh has become more connected. Chittorgarh ranked 264th in 1975, 567th in 1976-1990 and 115th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

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

To date, Chittorgarh is the 21st-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 Chittorgarh has become more connected. Chittorgarh ranked 13th in 1975, 24th in 1976-1990, 21st in 1991-2000 and 21st in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Chittorgarh is the 511th-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 Chittorgarh has become more connected. Chittorgarh ranked 264th in 1975, 419th in 1976-1990, 467th in 1991-2000 and 511th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Chittorgarh had a built-up area of 11.91 square kilometers, and a population of 286106 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: