Street-network Sprawl in Lakhimpur, 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.

Lakhimpur: 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 Lakhimpur, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Lakhimpur as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is -1.43, which is very well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are -2.21, nan, nan and -1.83. Data was not available in 1976-1990 and 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Lakhimpur spans a total of 95 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 2001-2014. These roads have an SNDi of -1.83, 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 -2.21, -1.62, -1.58 and -1.43. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Lakhimpur has become more disconnected. This increase has slowed: between 1975 and 1976-1990, SNDi rose by 0.59 points, but between 1991-2000 and 2001-2014, it rose by just 0.16.

Lakhimpur 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 Lakhimpur fare in comparison to others in Uttar Pradesh? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Lakhimpur was the 135th-most disconnected out of the 204 cities in Uttar Pradesh. Lakhimpur ranked 104th in 1975 and 135th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Lakhimpur 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 Lakhimpur fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Lakhimpur was the 1256th-most disconnected out of the 1716 cities in India. Lakhimpur ranked 887th in 1975 and 1256th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Lakhimpur 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, Lakhimpur is the 193rd-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 Lakhimpur has become more connected. Lakhimpur ranked 104th in 1975, 130th in 1976-1990, 164th in 1991-2000 and 193rd in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Lakhimpur is the 1671st-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 Lakhimpur has become more connected. Lakhimpur ranked 887th in 1975, 1403rd in 1976-1990, 1539th in 1991-2000 and 1671st in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Lakhimpur had a built-up area of 3.95 square kilometers, and a population of 932937 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: