Street-network Sprawl in Lido di Ostia, Italy

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.

Lido di Ostia: city in Lazio, Italy

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 Lido di Ostia, Italy on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Lido di Ostia as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is -0.18, which is very well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are -0.23, 2.44, nan and 6.57. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Lido di Ostia spans a total of 134 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of -0.23, 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 -0.23, -0.19, -0.19 and -0.18. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Lido di Ostia has become more disconnected. This increase has slowed: between 1975 and 1976-1990, SNDi rose by 0.04 points, but between 1991-2000 and 2001-2014, it rose by just 0.01.

Lido di Ostia and Lazio 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 Lazio rose steadily.

How do development practices in Lido di Ostia fare in comparison to others in Lazio? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Lido di Ostia was the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 6 cities in Lazio. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Lido di Ostia ranked 6th in 1975, 6th in 1976-1990 and 2nd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Lido di Ostia and Italy 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 Italy peaked in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in Lido di Ostia fare in comparison to others in Italy? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Lido di Ostia was the 11th-most disconnected out of the 91 cities in Italy. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Italy, street construction in Lido di Ostia has become more disconnected. Lido di Ostia ranked 89th in 1975, 62nd in 1976-1990 and 11th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Lido di Ostia and Lazio do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Lido di Ostia rose steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Lazio rose steadily.

To date, Lido di Ostia is the 6th-most disconnected out of the 6 cities in Lazio. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Lido di Ostia ranked 6th in 1975, 6th in 1976-1990, 6th in 1991-2000 and 6th in 2001-2014.

Lido di Ostia and Italy do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Lido di Ostia rose steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Italy rose steadily.

To date, Lido di Ostia is the 89th-most disconnected out of the 91 cities in Italy. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Lido di Ostia ranked 89th in 1975, 89th in 1976-1990, 89th in 1991-2000 and 89th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Lido di Ostia had a built-up area of 6.32 square kilometers, and a population of 78813 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: