Street-network Sprawl in Safi, 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.

Safi: city in Doukkala - Abda, 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 Safi, Morocco on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Safi as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.17, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 1.14, 1.22, 1.41 and 1.69. In each period, new street development in Safi steadily grows more disconnected than in the last.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Safi spans a total of 557 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 1.14, 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 1.14, 1.14, 1.16 and 1.17. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Safi has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Safi and Doukkala - Abda do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Safi rose steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Doukkala - Abda followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in Safi fare in comparison to others in Doukkala - Abda? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Safi was the 4th-most disconnected out of the 5 cities in Doukkala - Abda. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Safi ranked 4th in 1975, 2nd in 1976-1990, 4th in 1991-2000 and 4th in 2001-2014.

Safi and Morocco follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.

How do development practices in Safi fare in comparison to others in Morocco? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Safi was the 28th-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 Safi has become more connected. Safi ranked 26th in 1975, 30th in 1976-1990, 26th in 1991-2000 and 28th in 2001-2014.

Safi and Doukkala - Abda do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Safi was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Doukkala - Abda rose steadily.

To date, Safi is the 4th-most disconnected out of the 5 cities in Doukkala - Abda. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Safi ranked 4th in 1975, 4th in 1976-1990, 4th in 1991-2000 and 4th in 2001-2014.

Safi and Morocco do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Safi was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Morocco rose steadily.

To date, Safi is the 31st-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 Safi has become more connected. Safi ranked 26th in 1975, 34th in 1976-1990, 31st in 1991-2000 and 31st in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Safi had a built-up area of 14.55 square kilometers, and a population of 323674 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: