Street-network Sprawl in Oltenița, Romania

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.

Oltenița: city in Călărași, Romania

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 Oltenița, Romania on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Oltenița as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.2, which is very well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.23, 0.08, nan and -0.65. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Oltenița spans a total of 65 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 0.23, which is very 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 0.23, 0.22, 0.22 and 0.2. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has fallen: the street network in Oltenița has become more connected. This decrease has quickened: between 1975 and 1976-1990, SNDi fell by 0.01 points, but between 1991-2000 and 2001-2014, it fell by just 0.01.

Oltenița and Călărași 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 Călărași rose steadily.

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

Oltenița and Romania 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 Romania rose steadily.

How do development practices in Oltenița fare in comparison to others in Romania? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Oltenița was the 26th-most disconnected out of the 29 cities in Romania. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Romania, street construction in Oltenița has become more connected. Oltenița ranked 28th in 1975, 29th in 1976-1990 and 26th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Oltenița and Călărași do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Oltenița fell steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Călărași rose steadily.

To date, Oltenița is the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 2 cities in Călărași. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Oltenița ranked 2nd in 1975, 2nd in 1976-1990, 2nd in 1991-2000 and 2nd in 2001-2014.

Oltenița and Romania do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Oltenița fell steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Romania rose steadily.

To date, Oltenița is the 29th-most disconnected out of the 29 cities in Romania. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Romania, the street network in Oltenița has become more connected. Oltenița ranked 28th in 1975, 28th in 1976-1990, 28th in 1991-2000 and 29th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Oltenița had a built-up area of 3.61 square kilometers, and a population of 108928 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: