Street-network Sprawl in Gombi, Nigeria

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.

Gombi: city in Adamawa, Nigeria

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 Gombi, Nigeria on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Gombi as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is -0.06, which is very well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, -0.68, 0.44 and 0.81. Data was not available in 1975.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Gombi spans a total of 111 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, -0.68, -0.62 and -0.06. Data was not available in 1975.

Gombi and Adamawa 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 Adamawa rose steadily.

How do development practices in Gombi fare in comparison to others in Adamawa? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Gombi was the 12th-most disconnected out of the 17 cities in Adamawa. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Adamawa, street construction in Gombi has become more disconnected. Gombi ranked 13th in 1976-1990, 10th in 1991-2000 and 12th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Gombi and Nigeria 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 Nigeria peaked in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in Gombi fare in comparison to others in Nigeria? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Gombi was the 298th-most disconnected out of the 411 cities in Nigeria. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Nigeria, street construction in Gombi has become more disconnected. Gombi ranked 337th in 1976-1990, 224th in 1991-2000 and 298th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Gombi and Adamawa 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 Adamawa rose steadily.

To date, Gombi is the 16th-most disconnected out of the 17 cities in Adamawa. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Adamawa, the street network in Gombi has become more connected. Gombi ranked 13th in 1976-1990, 13th in 1991-2000 and 16th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Gombi and Nigeria 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 Nigeria rose steadily.

To date, Gombi is the 358th-most disconnected out of the 411 cities in Nigeria. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Nigeria, the street network in Gombi has become more connected. Gombi ranked 352nd in 1976-1990, 361st in 1991-2000 and 358th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Gombi had a built-up area of 0.29 square kilometers, and a population of 118592 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: