Street-network Sprawl in Thiruvarur, 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.

Thiruvarur: 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 Thiruvarur, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Thiruvarur as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.83, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, 1.01, nan and -0.46. Data was not available in 1975 and 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Thiruvarur spans a total of 53 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, 1.01, 0.95 and 0.83. Data was not available in 1975.

Thiruvarur 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 Thiruvarur fare in comparison to others in Tamil Nadu? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Thiruvarur was the 132nd-most disconnected out of the 151 cities in Tamil Nadu. Thiruvarur ranked 92nd in 1976-1990 and 132nd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Thiruvarur 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 Thiruvarur fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Thiruvarur was the 1191st-most disconnected out of the 1716 cities in India. Thiruvarur ranked 955th in 1976-1990 and 1191st in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Thiruvarur 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, Thiruvarur is the 138th-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 Thiruvarur has become more connected. Thiruvarur ranked 111th in 1976-1990, 121st in 1991-2000 and 138th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Thiruvarur 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, Thiruvarur is the 1347th-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 Thiruvarur has become more connected. Thiruvarur ranked 1062nd in 1976-1990, 1193rd in 1991-2000 and 1347th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Thiruvarur had a built-up area of 2.56 square kilometers, and a population of 127360 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: