Street-network Sprawl in Gronowo Górne, 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.

Gronowo Górne: city in Warmińsko-Mazurskie, 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 Gronowo Górne, Poland on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Gronowo Górne as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 3.19, which is in the 40th to 60th percentile of disconnectedness.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 6.74, 2.27, 1.83 and 5.9. The disconnectivity of new streets constructed in Gronowo Górne fell, then rose. In 1991-2000, new street layouts were the most connected.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Gronowo Górne spans a total of 38 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 2.27, 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 6.74, 2.59, 2.53 and 3.19. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Gronowo Górne has worsened in disconnectivity since 2000.

Gronowo Górne and Warmińsko-Mazurskie do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Gronowo Górne was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Warmińsko-Mazurskie rose steadily.

How do development practices in Gronowo Górne fare in comparison to others in Warmińsko-Mazurskie? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Gronowo Górne was the 1st-most disconnected out of the 3 cities in Warmińsko-Mazurskie. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Gronowo Górne ranked 1st in 1975, 1st in 1976-1990, 3rd in 1991-2000 and 1st in 2001-2014.

Gronowo Górne and Poland do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Gronowo Górne was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Poland rose steadily.

How do development practices in Gronowo Górne fare in comparison to others in Poland? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Gronowo Górne was the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 47 cities in Poland. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Poland, street construction in Gronowo Górne has become more connected. Gronowo Górne ranked 1st in 1975, 24th in 1976-1990, 40th in 1991-2000 and 2nd in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Gronowo Górne is the 1st-most disconnected out of the 3 cities in Warmińsko-Mazurskie. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Gronowo Górne ranked 1st in 1975, 1st in 1976-1990, 1st in 1991-2000 and 1st in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Gronowo Górne is the 1st-most disconnected out of the 47 cities in Poland. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Gronowo Górne ranked 1st in 1975, 3rd in 1976-1990, 3rd in 1991-2000 and 1st in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Gronowo Górne had a built-up area of 1.14 square kilometers, and a population of 51299 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: