Street-network Sprawl in Sathupally, 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.

Sathupally: 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 Sathupally, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Sathupally as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is -0.6, which is very well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are -2.45, nan, -0.91 and -0.2. Data was not available in 1976-1990.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Sathupally spans a total of 27 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 2001-2014. These roads have an SNDi of -0.2, which is very 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 -2.45, -2.45, -1.5 and -0.6. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Sathupally has become more disconnected.

Sathupally 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 Sathupally fare in comparison to others in Telangana? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Sathupally was the 43rd-most disconnected out of the 51 cities in Telangana. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Sathupally ranked 29th in 1975, 43rd in 1991-2000 and 43rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Sathupally 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 Sathupally fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Sathupally was the 1166th-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 Sathupally has become more connected. Sathupally ranked 889th in 1975, 1030th in 1991-2000 and 1166th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

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

To date, Sathupally is the 50th-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 Sathupally has become more connected. Sathupally ranked 29th in 1975, 49th in 1976-1990, 51st in 1991-2000 and 50th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Sathupally is the 1607th-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 Sathupally has become more connected. Sathupally ranked 889th in 1975, 1427th in 1976-1990, 1535th in 1991-2000 and 1607th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Sathupally had a built-up area of 1.31 square kilometers, and a population of 62515 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: