Street-network Sprawl in Nyaung Shwe, 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.

Nyaung Shwe: city in Shan, 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 Nyaung Shwe, Myanmar on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Nyaung Shwe as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.71, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, 0.7, 1.02 and nan. Data was not available in 1975 and 2001-2014.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Nyaung Shwe spans a total of 67 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of nan, 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 nan, 0.7, 0.72 and 0.71. Data was not available in 1975.

Nyaung Shwe and Shan 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 Shan was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

How do development practices in Nyaung Shwe fare in comparison to others in Shan? out of the 17 cities in Shan. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Shan, street construction in Nyaung Shwe has become more connected. Nyaung Shwe ranked 12th in 1976-1990 and 14th in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 1975 and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Nyaung Shwe 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 Nyaung Shwe 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 Nyaung Shwe has become more disconnected. Nyaung Shwe ranked 75th in 1976-1990 and 59th in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 1975 and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Nyaung Shwe and Shan 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 Shan was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

To date, Nyaung Shwe is the 17th-most disconnected out of the 17 cities in Shan. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Shan, the street network in Nyaung Shwe has become more connected. Nyaung Shwe ranked 15th in 1976-1990, 15th in 1991-2000 and 17th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Nyaung Shwe and Myanmar 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 Myanmar was at its lowest in 1991-2000.

To date, Nyaung Shwe is the 98th-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 Nyaung Shwe has become more connected. Nyaung Shwe ranked 84th in 1976-1990, 90th in 1991-2000 and 98th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Nyaung Shwe had a built-up area of 2.14 square kilometers, and a population of 70405 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: