Street-network Sprawl in Jinyeong-eup, South Korea

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.

Jinyeong-eup: city in Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea

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 Jinyeong-eup, South Korea on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Jinyeong-eup as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 2.69, which is in the 40th to 60th percentile of disconnectedness.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 2.92, 1.64, 3.15 and 2.91. Disconnectivity in street construction in Jinyeong-eup follows a zig-zag trend. In 1976-1990, street construction was most disconnected, while construction was most connected in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Jinyeong-eup spans a total of 107 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 2001-2014. These roads have an SNDi of 2.91, 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 2.92, 2.15, 2.62 and 2.69. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Jinyeong-eup has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Jinyeong-eup and Gyeongsangnam-do do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Jinyeong-eup followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease, while the SNDi of street constructions in Gyeongsangnam-do rose steadily.

How do development practices in Jinyeong-eup fare in comparison to others in Gyeongsangnam-do? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Jinyeong-eup was the 5th-most disconnected out of the 8 cities in Gyeongsangnam-do. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Gyeongsangnam-do, street construction in Jinyeong-eup has become more connected. Jinyeong-eup ranked 1st in 1975, 1st in 1976-1990, 2nd in 1991-2000 and 5th in 2001-2014.

Jinyeong-eup and South Korea do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Jinyeong-eup followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease, while the SNDi of street constructions in South Korea rose steadily.

How do development practices in Jinyeong-eup fare in comparison to others in South Korea? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Jinyeong-eup was the 13th-most disconnected out of the 39 cities in South Korea. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in South Korea, street construction in Jinyeong-eup has become more connected. Jinyeong-eup ranked 1st in 1975, 10th in 1976-1990, 5th in 1991-2000 and 13th in 2001-2014.

Jinyeong-eup and Gyeongsangnam-do do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Jinyeong-eup was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Gyeongsangnam-do rose steadily.

To date, Jinyeong-eup is the 1st-most disconnected out of the 8 cities in Gyeongsangnam-do. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Jinyeong-eup ranked 1st in 1975, 1st in 1976-1990, 1st in 1991-2000 and 1st in 2001-2014.

Jinyeong-eup and South Korea do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Jinyeong-eup was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in South Korea rose steadily.

To date, Jinyeong-eup is the 3rd-most disconnected out of the 39 cities in South Korea. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in South Korea, the street network in Jinyeong-eup has become more connected. Jinyeong-eup ranked 1st in 1975, 4th in 1976-1990, 3rd in 1991-2000 and 3rd in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Jinyeong-eup had a built-up area of 7.67 square kilometers, and a population of 73071 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: