Street-network Sprawl in Al Baaj, Iraq

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.

Al Baaj: city in Ninawa, Iraq

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 Al Baaj, Iraq on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Al Baaj as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is -0.73, which is very well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, nan, nan and -0.65. Data was not available in 1975, 1976-1990 and 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Al Baaj spans a total of 59 kilometers. The period with the greatest volume of street construction was 2001-2014. These roads have an SNDi of -0.65, which is very 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 nan, nan, nan and -0.73. Data was not available in 1975, 1976-1990 and 1991-2000.

Al Baaj and Ninawa 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 Ninawa rose steadily.

How do development practices in Al Baaj fare in comparison to others in Ninawa? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Al Baaj was the 11th-most disconnected out of the 11 cities in Ninawa. Al Baaj ranked 11th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975, 1976-1990, and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Al Baaj and Iraq 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 Iraq was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

How do development practices in Al Baaj fare in comparison to others in Iraq? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Al Baaj was the 69th-most disconnected out of the 75 cities in Iraq. Al Baaj ranked 69th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975, 1976-1990, and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Al Baaj and Ninawa 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 Ninawa rose steadily.

To date, Al Baaj is the 11th-most disconnected out of the 11 cities in Ninawa. Al Baaj ranked 11th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975, 1976-1990, and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Al Baaj and Iraq 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 Iraq was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

To date, Al Baaj is the 75th-most disconnected out of the 75 cities in Iraq. Al Baaj ranked 75th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975, 1976-1990, and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Al Baaj had a built-up area of 0.31 square kilometers, and a population of 100618 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: