Street-network Sprawl in Zaki Biam, 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.

Zaki Biam: city in Benue, 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 Zaki Biam, Nigeria on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Zaki Biam as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.51, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, 0.37, 0.37 and 1.62. Data was not available in 1975.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Zaki Biam spans a total of 133 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, 0.37, 0.39 and 1.51. Data was not available in 1975.

Zaki Biam and Benue 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 Benue peaked in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in Zaki Biam fare in comparison to others in Benue? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Zaki Biam was the 5th-most disconnected out of the 15 cities in Benue. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Benue, street construction in Zaki Biam has become more connected. Zaki Biam ranked 4th in 1976-1990, 6th in 1991-2000 and 5th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Zaki Biam 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 Zaki Biam fare in comparison to others in Nigeria? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Zaki Biam was the 252nd-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 Zaki Biam has become more disconnected. Zaki Biam ranked 262nd in 1976-1990, 226th in 1991-2000 and 252nd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Zaki Biam and Benue 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 Benue rose steadily.

To date, Zaki Biam is the 6th-most disconnected out of the 15 cities in Benue. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Benue, the street network in Zaki Biam has become more connected. Zaki Biam ranked 4th in 1976-1990, 6th in 1991-2000 and 6th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Zaki Biam 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, Zaki Biam is the 235th-most disconnected out of the 411 cities in Nigeria. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Nigeria, the street network in Zaki Biam has become more disconnected. Zaki Biam ranked 269th in 1976-1990, 282nd in 1991-2000 and 235th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Zaki Biam had a built-up area of 2.94 square kilometers, and a population of 218042 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: