Street-network Sprawl in Mahabad, Iran

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.

Mahabad: city in West Azarbaijan, Iran

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 Mahabad, Iran on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Mahabad as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 2.43, which is in the 40th to 60th percentile of disconnectedness.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, 1.59, 2.77 and 4.41. Data was not available in 1975.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Mahabad spans a total of 339 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. 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 nan, 1.59, 1.73 and 2.43. Data was not available in 1975.

Mahabad and West Azarbaijan 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 Azarbaijan was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

How do development practices in Mahabad fare in comparison to others in West Azarbaijan? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Mahabad was the 3rd-most disconnected out of the 11 cities in West Azarbaijan. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in West Azarbaijan, street construction in Mahabad has become more disconnected. Mahabad ranked 4th in 1976-1990, 4th in 1991-2000 and 3rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Mahabad and Iran 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 Iran was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

How do development practices in Mahabad fare in comparison to others in Iran? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Mahabad was the 33rd-most disconnected out of the 181 cities in Iran. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Iran, street construction in Mahabad has become more disconnected. Mahabad ranked 92nd in 1976-1990, 66th in 1991-2000 and 33rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Mahabad and West Azarbaijan do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in West Azarbaijan was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

To date, Mahabad is the 4th-most disconnected out of the 11 cities in West Azarbaijan. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Mahabad ranked 4th in 1976-1990, 5th in 1991-2000 and 4th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Mahabad and Iran do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in Iran was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

To date, Mahabad is the 69th-most disconnected out of the 181 cities in Iran. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Iran, the street network in Mahabad has become more disconnected. Mahabad ranked 97th in 1976-1990, 95th in 1991-2000 and 69th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Mahabad had a built-up area of 8.43 square kilometers, and a population of 150986 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: