Street-network Sprawl in Sambhal, 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.

Sambhal: 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 Sambhal, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Sambhal as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.67, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.88, 2.42, 2.22 and nan. Data was not available in 2001-2014.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Sambhal spans a total of 107 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 2.42, which is in the 40th to 60th percentile of disconnectedness.

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 0.88, 1.77, 1.71 and 1.67. The aggregate street network in Sambhal increased in disconnectivity initially,but the trend has turned around after 1990.

Sambhal 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 Sambhal fare in comparison to others in Uttar Pradesh? 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 Sambhal has become more disconnected. Sambhal ranked 71st in 1975, 49th in 1976-1990 and 62nd in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Sambhal 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 Sambhal 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 Sambhal has become more connected. Sambhal ranked 668th in 1975, 611th in 1976-1990 and 690th in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

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

To date, Sambhal is 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, the street network in Sambhal has become more connected. Sambhal ranked 71st in 1975, 74th in 1976-1990, 101st in 1991-2000 and 119th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Sambhal is the 1116th-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 Sambhal has become more connected. Sambhal ranked 668th in 1975, 837th in 1976-1990, 984th in 1991-2000 and 1116th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Sambhal had a built-up area of 5.58 square kilometers, and a population of 741785 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: