Merca: city in Shabeellaha Hoose, Somalia
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 Merca, Somalia on the sprawlmap
Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Merca as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.59, which is relatively well-connected.
Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.67, nan, -1.41 and 0.11. Data was not available in 1976-1990.
Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Merca spans a total of 61 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 0.67, 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 0.67, 0.67, 0.59 and 0.59. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has fallen: the street network in Merca has become more connected. This decrease has quickened: between 1975 and 1976-1990, SNDi fell by 0.0 points, but between 1991-2000 and 2001-2014, it fell by just 0.0.
Merca and Shabeellaha Hoose 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 Shabeellaha Hoose followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.
How do development practices in Merca fare in comparison to others in Shabeellaha Hoose? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Merca was the 3rd-most disconnected out of the 4 cities in Shabeellaha Hoose. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Shabeellaha Hoose, street construction in Merca has become more connected. Merca ranked 2nd in 1975, 2nd in 1991-2000 and 3rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.
Merca and Somalia 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 Somalia peaked in 1991-2000.
How do development practices in Merca fare in comparison to others in Somalia? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Merca was the 16th-most disconnected out of the 23 cities in Somalia. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Somalia, street construction in Merca has become more connected. Merca ranked 6th in 1975, 13th in 1991-2000 and 16th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.
Merca and Shabeellaha Hoose do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Merca fell steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Shabeellaha Hoose followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.
To date, Merca is the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 4 cities in Shabeellaha Hoose. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Merca ranked 2nd in 1975, 2nd in 1976-1990, 3rd in 1991-2000 and 2nd in 2001-2014.
Merca and Somalia do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Merca fell steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in Somalia peaked in 1991-2000.
To date, Merca is the 8th-most disconnected out of the 23 cities in Somalia. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Somalia, the street network in Merca has become more connected. Merca ranked 6th in 1975, 6th in 1976-1990, 8th in 1991-2000 and 8th in 2001-2014.
As of 2015, Merca had a built-up area of 2.6 square kilometers, and a population of 128179 people.
These are some other cities with approximately the same population: