Street-network Sprawl in Chengam, 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.

Chengam: 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 Chengam, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Chengam as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 2.26, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, 2.14, nan and 2.41. Data was not available in 1975 and 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Chengam spans a total of 47 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of nan, 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 nan, 2.14, 2.21 and 2.26. Data was not available in 1975.

Chengam and Tamil Nadu 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 Tamil Nadu rose steadily.

How do development practices in Chengam fare in comparison to others in Tamil Nadu? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Chengam was the 101st-most disconnected out of the 151 cities in Tamil Nadu. Chengam ranked 68th in 1976-1990 and 101st in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Chengam 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 Chengam fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Chengam was the 803rd-most disconnected out of the 1716 cities in India. Chengam ranked 682nd in 1976-1990 and 803rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Chengam and Tamil Nadu do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in Tamil Nadu rose steadily.

To date, Chengam is the 100th-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 Chengam has become more connected. Chengam ranked 75th in 1976-1990, 88th in 1991-2000 and 100th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Chengam and India do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in India rose steadily.

To date, Chengam is the 935th-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 Chengam has become more connected. Chengam ranked 719th in 1976-1990, 818th in 1991-2000 and 935th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Chengam had a built-up area of 0.87 square kilometers, and a population of 71521 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: