Street-network Sprawl in Phyongwon, North Korea

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.

Phyongwon: city in P'yŏngan-namdo, North Korea

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 Phyongwon, North Korea on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Phyongwon as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 3.71, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 3.82, 0.47, nan and 3.84. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Phyongwon spans a total of 44 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 3.82, 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 3.82, 3.72, 3.69 and 3.71. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Phyongwon has worsened in disconnectivity since 2000.

Phyongwon and P'yŏngan-namdo 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 P'yŏngan-namdo followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease.

How do development practices in Phyongwon fare in comparison to others in P'yŏngan-namdo? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Phyongwon was the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 14 cities in P'yŏngan-namdo. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in P'yŏngan-namdo, street construction in Phyongwon has become more connected. Phyongwon ranked 9th in 1975, 11th in 1976-1990 and 2nd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Phyongwon and North Korea 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 North Korea followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in Phyongwon fare in comparison to others in North Korea? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Phyongwon was the 11th-most disconnected out of the 79 cities in North Korea. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in North Korea, street construction in Phyongwon has become more disconnected. Phyongwon ranked 58th in 1975, 42nd in 1976-1990 and 11th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Phyongwon and P'yŏngan-namdo do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Phyongwon was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in P'yŏngan-namdo peaked in 1976-1990.

To date, Phyongwon is the 11th-most disconnected out of the 14 cities in P'yŏngan-namdo. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in P'yŏngan-namdo, the street network in Phyongwon has become more connected. Phyongwon ranked 9th in 1975, 11th in 1976-1990, 11th in 1991-2000 and 11th in 2001-2014.

Phyongwon and North Korea do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Phyongwon was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in North Korea rose steadily.

To date, Phyongwon is the 62nd-most disconnected out of the 79 cities in North Korea. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in North Korea, the street network in Phyongwon has become more connected. Phyongwon ranked 58th in 1975, 61st in 1976-1990, 61st in 1991-2000 and 62nd in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Phyongwon had a built-up area of 0.6 square kilometers, and a population of 108735 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: