Street-network Sprawl in Deroua, Morocco

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.

Deroua: city in Chaouia - Ouardigha, Morocco

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 Deroua, Morocco on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Deroua as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.98, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, 2.08, 0.26 and 1.49. Data was not available in 1975.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Deroua spans a total of 202 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 2001-2014. These roads have an SNDi of 1.49, which is relatively 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, 2.08, 0.34 and 0.98. Data was not available in 1975.

Deroua and Chaouia - Ouardigha 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 Chaouia - Ouardigha rose steadily.

How do development practices in Deroua fare in comparison to others in Chaouia - Ouardigha? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Deroua was the 5th-most disconnected out of the 6 cities in Chaouia - Ouardigha. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Chaouia - Ouardigha, street construction in Deroua has become more connected. Deroua ranked 1st in 1976-1990, 6th in 1991-2000 and 5th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Deroua and Morocco 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 Morocco rose steadily.

How do development practices in Deroua fare in comparison to others in Morocco? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Deroua was the 34th-most disconnected out of the 61 cities in Morocco. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Morocco, street construction in Deroua has become more connected. Deroua ranked 13th in 1976-1990, 49th in 1991-2000 and 34th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Deroua and Chaouia - Ouardigha 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 Chaouia - Ouardigha followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

To date, Deroua is the 4th-most disconnected out of the 6 cities in Chaouia - Ouardigha. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Chaouia - Ouardigha, the street network in Deroua has become more connected. Deroua ranked 1st in 1976-1990, 6th in 1991-2000 and 4th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Deroua and Morocco 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 Morocco rose steadily.

To date, Deroua is the 45th-most disconnected out of the 61 cities in Morocco. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Morocco, the street network in Deroua has become more connected. Deroua ranked 10th in 1976-1990, 56th in 1991-2000 and 45th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Deroua had a built-up area of 4.09 square kilometers, and a population of 60757 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: