Street-network Sprawl in Palaw, 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.

Palaw: city in Tanintharyi, 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 Palaw, Myanmar on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Palaw as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.06, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 4.24, 0.09, 3.17 and nan. Data was not available in 2001-2014.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Palaw spans a total of 19 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 0.09, 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 4.24, 0.68, 0.95 and 1.06. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Palaw has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Palaw and Tanintharyi 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 Tanintharyi peaked in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in Palaw fare in comparison to others in Tanintharyi? out of the 4 cities in Tanintharyi. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Palaw ranked 1st in 1975, 4th in 1976-1990 and 1st in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Palaw 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 Palaw fare in comparison to others in Myanmar? out of the 107 cities in Myanmar. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Myanmar, street construction in Palaw has become more connected. Palaw ranked 7th in 1975, 85th in 1976-1990 and 20th in 1991-2000. There was no ranking in 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

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

To date, Palaw is the 4th-most disconnected out of the 4 cities in Tanintharyi. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Tanintharyi, the street network in Palaw has become more connected. Palaw ranked 1st in 1975, 4th in 1976-1990, 4th in 1991-2000 and 4th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Palaw is the 88th-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 Palaw has become more connected. Palaw ranked 7th in 1975, 86th in 1976-1990, 88th in 1991-2000 and 88th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Palaw had a built-up area of 0.06 square kilometers, and a population of 52016 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: