Street-network Sprawl in Wroclaw, Poland

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.

Wroclaw: city in Dolnośląskie, Poland

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 Wroclaw, Poland on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Wroclaw as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.13, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.86, 2.13, 3.48 and 2.69. Street construction in Wroclaw 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 Wroclaw spans a total of 1128 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 0.86, which is relatively 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 0.86, 0.99, 1.08 and 1.13. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Wroclaw has become more disconnected. This increase has slowed: between 1975 and 1976-1990, SNDi rose by 0.13 points, but between 1991-2000 and 2001-2014, it rose by just 0.05.

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

How do development practices in Wroclaw fare in comparison to others in Dolnośląskie? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Wroclaw was the 4th-most disconnected out of the 6 cities in Dolnośląskie. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Dolnośląskie, street construction in Wroclaw has become more disconnected. Wroclaw ranked 6th in 1975, 4th in 1976-1990, 2nd in 1991-2000 and 4th in 2001-2014.

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

How do development practices in Wroclaw fare in comparison to others in Poland? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Wroclaw was the 32nd-most disconnected out of the 47 cities in Poland. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Poland, street construction in Wroclaw has become more disconnected. Wroclaw ranked 43rd in 1975, 28th in 1976-1990, 18th in 1991-2000 and 32nd in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Wroclaw is the 6th-most disconnected out of the 6 cities in Dolnośląskie. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Wroclaw ranked 6th in 1975, 6th in 1976-1990, 6th in 1991-2000 and 6th in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Wroclaw is the 44th-most disconnected out of the 47 cities in Poland. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Poland, the street network in Wroclaw has become more connected. Wroclaw ranked 43rd in 1975, 45th in 1976-1990, 44th in 1991-2000 and 44th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Wroclaw had a built-up area of 66.09 square kilometers, and a population of 529208 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: