Street-network Sprawl in Davao City, Philippines

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.

Davao City: city in Davao del Sur, Philippines

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 Davao City, Philippines on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Davao City as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 4.14, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 2.06, 4.04, 4.93 and 4.6. Street construction in Davao City increased in disconnectivity initially but has since improved. The streets constructed in 1991-2000 were the most disconnected.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Davao City spans a total of 983 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 4.04, 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 2.06, 3.61, 4.12 and 4.14. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Davao City has become more disconnected. This increase has slowed: between 1975 and 1976-1990, SNDi rose by 1.55 points, but between 1991-2000 and 2001-2014, it rose by just 0.02.

Davao City and Davao del Sur do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Davao City peaked in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Davao del Sur rose steadily.

How do development practices in Davao City fare in comparison to others in Davao del Sur? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Davao City was the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 3 cities in Davao del Sur. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Davao City ranked 2nd in 1975, 2nd in 1976-1990, 1st in 1991-2000 and 2nd in 2001-2014.

Davao City and Philippines do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Davao City peaked in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Philippines rose steadily.

How do development practices in Davao City fare in comparison to others in Philippines? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Davao City was the 62nd-most disconnected out of the 89 cities in Philippines. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Davao City ranked 62nd in 1975, 53rd in 1976-1990, 47th in 1991-2000 and 62nd in 2001-2014.

Davao City and Davao del Sur follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.

To date, Davao City is the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 3 cities in Davao del Sur. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Davao City ranked 2nd in 1975, 2nd in 1976-1990, 1st in 1991-2000 and 2nd in 2001-2014.

Davao City and Philippines follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.

To date, Davao City is the 45th-most disconnected out of the 89 cities in Philippines. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Philippines, the street network in Davao City has become more disconnected. Davao City ranked 62nd in 1975, 51st in 1976-1990, 42nd in 1991-2000 and 45th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Davao City had a built-up area of 17.37 square kilometers, and a population of 821533 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: