Street-network Sprawl in Gonda, 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.

Gonda: 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 Gonda, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Gonda as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is -0.45, which is very well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are -1.58, nan, 0.76 and -0.44. Data was not available in 1976-1990.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Gonda spans a total of 115 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1991-2000. These roads have an SNDi of 0.76, 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 -1.58, -1.28, -0.46 and -0.45. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Gonda has become more disconnected. This increase has slowed: between 1975 and 1976-1990, SNDi rose by 0.3 points, but between 1991-2000 and 2001-2014, it rose by just 0.01.

Gonda 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 Gonda fare in comparison to others in Uttar Pradesh? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Gonda was the 119th-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, street construction in Gonda has become more connected. Gonda ranked 98th in 1975, 86th in 1991-2000 and 119th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Gonda 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 Gonda fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Gonda was the 1189th-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 Gonda has become more connected. Gonda ranked 875th in 1975, 892nd in 1991-2000 and 1189th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Gonda and Uttar Pradesh follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.

To date, Gonda is the 177th-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 Gonda has become more connected. Gonda ranked 98th in 1975, 124th in 1976-1990, 147th in 1991-2000 and 177th in 2001-2014.

Gonda and India follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.

To date, Gonda is the 1587th-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 Gonda has become more connected. Gonda ranked 875th in 1975, 1386th in 1976-1990, 1454th in 1991-2000 and 1587th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Gonda had a built-up area of 2.84 square kilometers, and a population of 1066419 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: