Street-network Sprawl in Mettur, 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.

Mettur: 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 Mettur, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Mettur as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 3.42, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 3.42, 3.34, nan and 3.89. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Mettur spans a total of 131 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 3.34, 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 3.42, 3.34, 3.34 and 3.42. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Mettur has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Mettur 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 Mettur fare in comparison to others in Tamil Nadu? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Mettur was the 51st-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 Mettur has become more connected. Mettur ranked 23rd in 1975, 35th in 1976-1990 and 51st in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Mettur 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 Mettur fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Mettur was the 471st-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 Mettur has become more connected. Mettur ranked 236th in 1975, 354th in 1976-1990 and 471st in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

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

To date, Mettur is the 44th-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 Mettur has become more connected. Mettur ranked 23rd in 1975, 33rd in 1976-1990, 44th in 1991-2000 and 44th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Mettur is the 490th-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 Mettur has become more connected. Mettur ranked 236th in 1975, 352nd in 1976-1990, 427th in 1991-2000 and 490th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Mettur had a built-up area of 6.38 square kilometers, and a population of 262132 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: