Street-network Sprawl in Belthara Road, 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.

Belthara Road: city in Uttar Pradesh, 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 Belthara Road, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Belthara Road as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 3.17, 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 6.29, 7.29, 0.82 and nan. Data was not available in 2001-2014.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Belthara Road spans a total of 44 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1991-2000. These roads have an SNDi of 0.82, 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 6.29, 6.73, 3.19 and 3.17. The aggregate street network in Belthara Road increased in disconnectivity initially,but the trend has turned around after 1990.

Belthara Road and Uttar Pradesh 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 Uttar Pradesh rose steadily.

How do development practices in Belthara Road fare in comparison to others in Uttar Pradesh? out of the 204 cities in Uttar Pradesh. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Uttar Pradesh, street construction in Belthara Road has become more connected. Belthara Road ranked 6th in 1975, 4th in 1976-1990 and 85th in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Belthara Road 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 Belthara Road fare in comparison to others in India? 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 Belthara Road has become more connected. Belthara Road ranked 34th in 1975, 15th in 1976-1990 and 886th in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Belthara Road and Uttar Pradesh do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Belthara Road peaked in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Uttar Pradesh rose steadily.

To date, Belthara Road is the 67th-most disconnected out of the 204 cities in Uttar Pradesh. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Uttar Pradesh, the street network in Belthara Road has become more connected. Belthara Road ranked 6th in 1975, 4th in 1976-1990, 51st in 1991-2000 and 67th in 2001-2014.

Belthara Road and India do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Belthara Road peaked in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in India rose steadily.

To date, Belthara Road is the 573rd-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 Belthara Road has become more connected. Belthara Road ranked 34th in 1975, 21st in 1976-1990, 479th in 1991-2000 and 573rd in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Belthara Road had a built-up area of 0.79 square kilometers, and a population of 171979 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: