Street-network Sprawl in Khanakul, 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.

Khanakul: city in West Bengal, 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 Khanakul, India on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Khanakul as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is -0.29, which is very well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are -0.45, nan, nan and nan. Data was not available in 1976-1990, 1991-2000 and 2001-2014.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Khanakul spans a total of 59 kilometers. The period with the greatest volume of street construction was 1991-2000. These roads have an SNDi of nan, 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 -0.45, -0.41, -0.22 and -0.29. The aggregate street network in Khanakul increased in disconnectivity initially,but the trend has turned around after 2000.

Khanakul and West Bengal 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 West Bengal rose steadily.

How do development practices in Khanakul fare in comparison to others in West Bengal? out of the 80 cities in West Bengal. Khanakul ranked 32nd in 1975. There was no ranking in 1976-1990, 1991-2000, and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Khanakul 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 Khanakul fare in comparison to others in India? out of the 1716 cities in India. Khanakul ranked 823rd in 1975. There was no ranking in 1976-1990, 1991-2000, and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Khanakul and West Bengal do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Khanakul peaked in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in West Bengal rose steadily.

To date, Khanakul is the 72nd-most disconnected out of the 80 cities in West Bengal. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in West Bengal, the street network in Khanakul has become more connected. Khanakul ranked 32nd in 1975, 61st in 1976-1990, 62nd in 1991-2000 and 72nd in 2001-2014.

Khanakul and India do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Khanakul peaked in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in India rose steadily.

To date, Khanakul is the 1561st-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 Khanakul has become more connected. Khanakul ranked 823rd in 1975, 1330th in 1976-1990, 1427th in 1991-2000 and 1561st in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Khanakul had a built-up area of 8.4 square kilometers, and a population of 159887 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: