Street-network Sprawl in Ambur, 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.

Ambur: city in Tamil Nadu, 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 Ambur, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Ambur as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 2.45, 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 0.62, 3.29, 2.77 and 2.7. Street construction in Ambur increased in disconnectivity initially but has since improved. The streets constructed in 1976-1990 were the most disconnected.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Ambur spans a total of 143 kilometers. The period with the greatest volume of street construction was 1991-2000. These roads have an SNDi of 2.77, 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 0.62, 2.29, 2.45 and 2.45. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Ambur has become more disconnected. This increase has slowed: between 1975 and 1976-1990, SNDi rose by 1.67 points, but between 1991-2000 and 2001-2014, it rose by just 0.0.

Ambur and Tamil Nadu do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Ambur peaked in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Tamil Nadu rose steadily.

How do development practices in Ambur fare in comparison to others in Tamil Nadu? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Ambur was the 92nd-most disconnected out of the 151 cities in Tamil Nadu. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Tamil Nadu, street construction in Ambur has become more connected. Ambur ranked 71st in 1975, 40th in 1976-1990, 78th in 1991-2000 and 92nd in 2001-2014.

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

How do development practices in Ambur fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Ambur was the 746th-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 Ambur has become more connected. Ambur ranked 706th in 1975, 368th in 1976-1990, 588th in 1991-2000 and 746th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Ambur is the 88th-most disconnected out of the 151 cities in Tamil Nadu. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Tamil Nadu, the street network in Ambur has become more connected. Ambur ranked 71st in 1975, 71st in 1976-1990, 76th in 1991-2000 and 88th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Ambur is the 855th-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 Ambur has become more connected. Ambur ranked 706th in 1975, 678th in 1976-1990, 742nd in 1991-2000 and 855th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Ambur had a built-up area of 4.88 square kilometers, and a population of 262470 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: