Street-network Sprawl in Bétou, Republic of Congo

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.

Bétou: city in Likouala, Republic of Congo

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 Bétou, Republic of Congo on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Bétou as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is -0.44, which is very well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, nan, -0.63 and -0.39. Data was not available in 1975 and 1976-1990.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Bétou spans a total of 40 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, nan, -0.63 and -0.44. Data was not available in 1975 and 1976-1990.

Bétou and Likouala 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 Likouala rose steadily.

How do development practices in Bétou fare in comparison to others in Likouala? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Bétou was the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 3 cities in Likouala. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Bétou ranked 2nd in 1991-2000 and 2nd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 and 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Bétou and Republic of Congo 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 Republic of Congo rose steadily.

How do development practices in Bétou fare in comparison to others in Republic of Congo? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Bétou was the 5th-most disconnected out of the 10 cities in Republic of Congo. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Republic of Congo, street construction in Bétou has become more disconnected. Bétou ranked 6th in 1991-2000 and 5th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 and 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Bétou and Likouala 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 Likouala rose steadily.

To date, Bétou is the 3rd-most disconnected out of the 3 cities in Likouala. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Bétou ranked 3rd in 1991-2000 and 3rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 and 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Bétou and Republic of Congo 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 Republic of Congo rose steadily.

To date, Bétou is the 10th-most disconnected out of the 10 cities in Republic of Congo. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Bétou ranked 10th in 1991-2000 and 10th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 and 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Bétou had a built-up area of 0.87 square kilometers, and a population of 79344 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: