Street-network Sprawl in Saharanpur, 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.

Saharanpur: 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 Saharanpur, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Saharanpur as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 4.28, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 4.39, 3.17, 1.75 and 6.0. The disconnectivity of new streets constructed in Saharanpur fell, then rose. In 1991-2000, new street layouts were the most connected.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Saharanpur spans a total of 293 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 4.39, which is highly disconnected.

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 4.39, 4.21, 4.2 and 4.28. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Saharanpur has worsened in disconnectivity since 2000.

Saharanpur and Uttar Pradesh do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Saharanpur was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Uttar Pradesh rose steadily.

How do development practices in Saharanpur fare in comparison to others in Uttar Pradesh? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Saharanpur was the 4th-most disconnected out of the 204 cities in Uttar Pradesh. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Uttar Pradesh, street construction in Saharanpur has become more disconnected. Saharanpur ranked 16th in 1975, 39th in 1976-1990, 67th in 1991-2000 and 4th in 2001-2014.

Saharanpur and India do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Saharanpur was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in India rose steadily.

How do development practices in Saharanpur fare in comparison to others in India? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Saharanpur was the 111th-most disconnected out of the 1716 cities in India. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in India, street construction in Saharanpur has become more disconnected. Saharanpur ranked 129th in 1975, 407th in 1976-1990, 761st in 1991-2000 and 111th in 2001-2014.

Saharanpur and Uttar Pradesh do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Saharanpur was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Uttar Pradesh rose steadily.

To date, Saharanpur is the 31st-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 Saharanpur has become more connected. Saharanpur ranked 16th in 1975, 27th in 1976-1990, 28th in 1991-2000 and 31st in 2001-2014.

Saharanpur and India do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Saharanpur was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in India rose steadily.

To date, Saharanpur is the 245th-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 Saharanpur has become more connected. Saharanpur ranked 129th in 1975, 182nd in 1976-1990, 212th in 1991-2000 and 245th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Saharanpur had a built-up area of 25.4 square kilometers, and a population of 1134417 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: