Street-network Sprawl in Diepsloot, South Africa

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.

Diepsloot: city in Gauteng, South Africa

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 Diepsloot, South Africa on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Diepsloot as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 3.65, which is highly disconnected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 3.07, nan, 4.14 and 6.75. Data was not available in 1976-1990.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Diepsloot spans a total of 148 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 3.07, which is in the 40th to 60th percentile of disconnectedness.

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 3.07, 3.07, 3.34 and 3.65. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Diepsloot has become more disconnected.

Diepsloot and Gauteng 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 Gauteng rose steadily.

How do development practices in Diepsloot fare in comparison to others in Gauteng? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Diepsloot was the 3rd-most disconnected out of the 19 cities in Gauteng. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Gauteng, street construction in Diepsloot has become more disconnected. Diepsloot ranked 8th in 1975, 8th in 1991-2000 and 3rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

Diepsloot and South Africa 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 South Africa followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase.

How do development practices in Diepsloot fare in comparison to others in South Africa? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Diepsloot was the 14th-most disconnected out of the 77 cities in South Africa. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in South Africa, street construction in Diepsloot has become more disconnected. Diepsloot ranked 21st in 1975, 31st in 1991-2000 and 14th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

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

To date, Diepsloot is the 6th-most disconnected out of the 19 cities in Gauteng. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Gauteng, the street network in Diepsloot has become more disconnected. Diepsloot ranked 8th in 1975, 11th in 1976-1990, 12th in 1991-2000 and 6th in 2001-2014.

Diepsloot and South Africa do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Diepsloot rose steadily, while the SNDi of street constructions in South Africa rose steadily.

To date, Diepsloot is the 24th-most disconnected out of the 77 cities in South Africa. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in South Africa, the street network in Diepsloot has become more connected. Diepsloot ranked 21st in 1975, 38th in 1976-1990, 36th in 1991-2000 and 24th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Diepsloot had a built-up area of 1.98 square kilometers, and a population of 151856 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: