Street-network Sprawl in Jagtial, 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.

Jagtial: city in Telangana, 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 Jagtial, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Jagtial as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.31, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 1.12, nan, 2.48 and 0.62. Data was not available in 1976-1990.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Jagtial spans a total of 122 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 1.12, which is relatively well-connected.

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 1.12, 1.12, 1.48 and 1.31. Disconnectivity in Jagtial's street network follows a zig-zag trend. In 1975, the city was most disconnected; while it was most connected in 1991-2000.

Jagtial and Telangana 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 Telangana rose steadily.

How do development practices in Jagtial fare in comparison to others in Telangana? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Jagtial was the 41st-most disconnected out of the 51 cities in Telangana. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Telangana, street construction in Jagtial has become more connected. Jagtial ranked 23rd in 1975, 25th in 1991-2000 and 41st in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Jagtial 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 Jagtial fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Jagtial was the 1080th-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 Jagtial has become more connected. Jagtial ranked 626th in 1975, 648th in 1991-2000 and 1080th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Jagtial and Telangana do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Jagtial followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase, while the SNDi of street constructions in Telangana rose steadily.

To date, Jagtial is the 40th-most disconnected out of the 51 cities in Telangana. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Telangana, the street network in Jagtial has become more connected. Jagtial ranked 23rd in 1975, 40th in 1976-1990, 38th in 1991-2000 and 40th in 2001-2014.

Jagtial and India do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Jagtial followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase, while the SNDi of street constructions in India rose steadily.

To date, Jagtial is the 1227th-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 Jagtial has become more connected. Jagtial ranked 626th in 1975, 1032nd in 1976-1990, 1054th in 1991-2000 and 1227th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Jagtial had a built-up area of 5.97 square kilometers, and a population of 129998 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: