Street-network Sprawl in Karimnagar, 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.

Karimnagar: 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 Karimnagar, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Karimnagar as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 2.66, 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 1.95, nan, 3.24 and 3.67. Data was not available in 1976-1990.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Karimnagar spans a total of 570 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 1.95, 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 1.95, 1.95, 2.46 and 2.66. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Karimnagar has become more disconnected.

Karimnagar 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 Karimnagar fare in comparison to others in Telangana? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Karimnagar was the 17th-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 Karimnagar has become more connected. Karimnagar ranked 15th in 1975, 14th in 1991-2000 and 17th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Karimnagar 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 Karimnagar fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Karimnagar was the 511th-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 Karimnagar has become more connected. Karimnagar ranked 495th in 1975, 489th in 1991-2000 and 511th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Karimnagar and Telangana do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Karimnagar rose steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Telangana rose steadily.

To date, Karimnagar is the 22nd-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 Karimnagar has become more connected. Karimnagar ranked 15th in 1975, 31st in 1976-1990, 24th in 1991-2000 and 22nd in 2001-2014.

Karimnagar and India do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Karimnagar rose steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in India rose steadily.

To date, Karimnagar is the 765th-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 Karimnagar has become more connected. Karimnagar ranked 495th in 1975, 783rd in 1976-1990, 736th in 1991-2000 and 765th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Karimnagar had a built-up area of 20.2 square kilometers, and a population of 307210 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: