Street-network Sprawl in Kyaukpyu, Myanmar

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.

Kyaukpyu: city in Rakhine, Myanmar

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 Kyaukpyu, Myanmar on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Kyaukpyu as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.83, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.96, 0.51, 2.09 and nan. Data was not available in 2001-2014.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Kyaukpyu spans a total of 40 kilometers. The period with the greatest volume of street construction was 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 0.51, 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 0.96, 0.71, 0.86 and 1.83. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Kyaukpyu has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Kyaukpyu and Rakhine 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 Rakhine was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

How do development practices in Kyaukpyu fare in comparison to others in Rakhine? out of the 6 cities in Rakhine. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Kyaukpyu ranked 2nd in 1975, 2nd in 1976-1990 and 2nd in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Kyaukpyu and Myanmar 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 Myanmar was at its lowest in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in Kyaukpyu fare in comparison to others in Myanmar? out of the 107 cities in Myanmar. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Myanmar, street construction in Kyaukpyu has become more disconnected. Kyaukpyu ranked 61st in 1975, 80th in 1976-1990 and 37th in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Kyaukpyu and Rakhine follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

To date, Kyaukpyu is the 3rd-most disconnected out of the 6 cities in Rakhine. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Rakhine, the street network in Kyaukpyu has become more connected. Kyaukpyu ranked 2nd in 1975, 2nd in 1976-1990, 3rd in 1991-2000 and 3rd in 2001-2014.

Kyaukpyu and Myanmar do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Kyaukpyu was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Myanmar was at its lowest in 1991-2000.

To date, Kyaukpyu is the 66th-most disconnected out of the 107 cities in Myanmar. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Myanmar, the street network in Kyaukpyu has become more connected. Kyaukpyu ranked 61st in 1975, 83rd in 1976-1990, 89th in 1991-2000 and 66th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Kyaukpyu had a built-up area of 0.69 square kilometers, and a population of 154900 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: