Street-network Sprawl in San Miguel de Cozumel, Mexico

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.

San Miguel de Cozumel: city in Quintana Roo, Mexico

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 San Miguel de Cozumel, Mexico on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in San Miguel de Cozumel as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.39, which is very well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.07, nan, 1.25 and 2.01. Data was not available in 1976-1990.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in San Miguel de Cozumel spans a total of 219 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 0.07, 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 0.07, 0.07, 0.3 and 0.39. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in San Miguel de Cozumel has become more disconnected.

San Miguel de Cozumel and Quintana Roo 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 Quintana Roo rose steadily.

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

San Miguel de Cozumel and Mexico 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 Mexico rose steadily.

How do development practices in San Miguel de Cozumel fare in comparison to others in Mexico? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in San Miguel de Cozumel was the 138th-most disconnected out of the 166 cities in Mexico. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Mexico, street construction in San Miguel de Cozumel has become more disconnected. San Miguel de Cozumel ranked 126th in 1975, 139th in 1991-2000 and 138th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

San Miguel de Cozumel and Quintana Roo do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in San Miguel de Cozumel rose steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Quintana Roo rose steadily.

To date, San Miguel de Cozumel is the 3rd-most disconnected out of the 4 cities in Quintana Roo. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. San Miguel de Cozumel ranked 3rd in 1975, 4th in 1976-1990, 3rd in 1991-2000 and 3rd in 2001-2014.

San Miguel de Cozumel and Mexico do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in San Miguel de Cozumel rose steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Mexico rose steadily.

To date, San Miguel de Cozumel is the 157th-most disconnected out of the 166 cities in Mexico. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Mexico, the street network in San Miguel de Cozumel has become more connected. San Miguel de Cozumel ranked 126th in 1975, 159th in 1976-1990, 156th in 1991-2000 and 157th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, San Miguel de Cozumel had a built-up area of 8.66 square kilometers, and a population of 85675 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: