Street-network Sprawl in Koungheul, Senegal

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.

Koungheul: city in Kaffrine, Senegal

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 Koungheul, Senegal on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Koungheul as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is -0.08, which is very well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, -0.35, nan and 0.67. Data was not available in 1975 and 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Koungheul spans a total of 60 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, -0.35, -0.35 and -0.08. Data was not available in 1975.

Koungheul and Kaffrine do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. There was not enough data from the city, as well as the Kaffrine's street network construction.

How do development practices in Koungheul fare in comparison to others in Kaffrine? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Koungheul was the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 2 cities in Kaffrine. Koungheul ranked 2nd in 1976-1990 and 2nd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Koungheul and Senegal 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 Senegal rose steadily.

How do development practices in Koungheul fare in comparison to others in Senegal? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Koungheul was the 18th-most disconnected out of the 31 cities in Senegal. Koungheul ranked 22nd in 1976-1990 and 18th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 and 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Koungheul and Kaffrine do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. There was not enough data from the city, as well as the Kaffrine's aggregate street network.

To date, Koungheul is the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 2 cities in Kaffrine. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Koungheul ranked 2nd in 1976-1990, 2nd in 1991-2000 and 2nd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Koungheul and Senegal 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 Senegal rose steadily.

To date, Koungheul is the 23rd-most disconnected out of the 31 cities in Senegal. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Senegal, the street network in Koungheul has become more connected. Koungheul ranked 22nd in 1976-1990, 26th in 1991-2000 and 23rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Koungheul had a built-up area of 0.27 square kilometers, and a population of 140931 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: