Street-network Sprawl in Lahewa, Indonesia

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.

Lahewa: city in Sumatera Utara, Indonesia

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 Lahewa, Indonesia on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Lahewa as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.47, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 1.5, 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 Lahewa spans a total of 22 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 1.5, 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 1.5, 1.5, 1.47 and 1.47. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has fallen: the street network in Lahewa has become more connected.

Lahewa and Sumatera Utara do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. There was not enough data from the city, as well as the Sumatera Utara's street network construction.

How do development practices in Lahewa fare in comparison to others in Sumatera Utara? out of the 19 cities in Sumatera Utara. Lahewa ranked 19th in 1975. There was no ranking in 1976-1990, 1991-2000, and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Lahewa and Indonesia 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 Indonesia followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in Lahewa fare in comparison to others in Indonesia? out of the 363 cities in Indonesia. Lahewa ranked 221st in 1975. There was no ranking in 1976-1990, 1991-2000, and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Lahewa and Sumatera Utara do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Lahewa fell steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Sumatera Utara rose steadily.

To date, Lahewa is the 19th-most disconnected out of the 19 cities in Sumatera Utara. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Lahewa ranked 19th in 1975, 19th in 1976-1990, 19th in 1991-2000 and 19th in 2001-2014.

Lahewa and Indonesia do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Lahewa fell steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Indonesia was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

To date, Lahewa is the 318th-most disconnected out of the 363 cities in Indonesia. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Indonesia, the street network in Lahewa has become more connected. Lahewa ranked 221st in 1975, 293rd in 1976-1990, 303rd in 1991-2000 and 318th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Lahewa had a built-up area of 0.37 square kilometers, and a population of 56729 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: