Street-network Sprawl in Kulai, Malaysia

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.

Kulai: city in Johor, Malaysia

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 Kulai, Malaysia on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Kulai as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 3.62, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 3.38, nan, 4.07 and 4.66. Data was not available in 1976-1990.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Kulai spans a total of 500 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 3.38, 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 3.38, 3.38, 3.52 and 3.62. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Kulai has become more disconnected.

Kulai and Johor 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 Johor's street network construction.

How do development practices in Kulai fare in comparison to others in Johor? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Kulai was the 3rd-most disconnected out of the 5 cities in Johor. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Johor, street construction in Kulai has become more disconnected. Kulai ranked 2nd in 1975, 4th in 1991-2000 and 3rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Kulai and Malaysia 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 Malaysia followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in Kulai fare in comparison to others in Malaysia? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Kulai was the 20th-most disconnected out of the 37 cities in Malaysia. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Malaysia, street construction in Kulai has become more disconnected. Kulai ranked 22nd in 1975, 24th in 1991-2000 and 20th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Kulai and Johor do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Kulai rose steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Johor rose steadily.

To date, Kulai is the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 5 cities in Johor. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Kulai ranked 2nd in 1975, 2nd in 1976-1990, 2nd in 1991-2000 and 2nd in 2001-2014.

Kulai and Malaysia do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Kulai rose steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Malaysia rose steadily.

To date, Kulai is the 25th-most disconnected out of the 37 cities in Malaysia. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Malaysia, the street network in Kulai has become more connected. Kulai ranked 22nd in 1975, 26th in 1976-1990, 25th in 1991-2000 and 25th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Kulai had a built-up area of 11.44 square kilometers, and a population of 142402 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: