Street-network Sprawl in El Puerto de Santa María, Spain

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.

El Puerto de Santa María: city in Andalucía, Spain

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 El Puerto de Santa María, Spain on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in El Puerto de Santa María as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.93, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 1.54, 2.92, 1.27 and 1.28. Disconnectivity in street construction in El Puerto de Santa María follows a zig-zag trend. In 1991-2000, street construction was most disconnected, while construction was most connected in 1976-1990.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in El Puerto de Santa María spans a total of 381 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 1.54, 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 1.54, 1.99, 1.94 and 1.93. The aggregate street network in El Puerto de Santa María increased in disconnectivity initially,but the trend has turned around after 1990.

El Puerto de Santa María and Andalucía do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in El Puerto de Santa María followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease, while the SNDi of street constructions in Andalucía rose steadily.

How do development practices in El Puerto de Santa María fare in comparison to others in Andalucía? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in El Puerto de Santa María was the 9th-most disconnected out of the 14 cities in Andalucía. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Andalucía, street construction in El Puerto de Santa María has become more connected. El Puerto de Santa María ranked 2nd in 1975, 4th in 1976-1990, 9th in 1991-2000 and 9th in 2001-2014.

El Puerto de Santa María and Spain do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in El Puerto de Santa María followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease, while the SNDi of street constructions in Spain peaked in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in El Puerto de Santa María fare in comparison to others in Spain? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in El Puerto de Santa María was the 44th-most disconnected out of the 72 cities in Spain. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Spain, street construction in El Puerto de Santa María has become more connected. El Puerto de Santa María ranked 16th in 1975, 14th in 1976-1990, 45th in 1991-2000 and 44th in 2001-2014.

El Puerto de Santa María and Andalucía do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in El Puerto de Santa María peaked in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Andalucía rose steadily.

To date, El Puerto de Santa María is the 3rd-most disconnected out of the 14 cities in Andalucía. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Andalucía, the street network in El Puerto de Santa María has become more connected. El Puerto de Santa María ranked 2nd in 1975, 2nd in 1976-1990, 2nd in 1991-2000 and 3rd in 2001-2014.

El Puerto de Santa María and Spain do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in El Puerto de Santa María peaked in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Spain rose steadily.

To date, El Puerto de Santa María is the 13th-most disconnected out of the 72 cities in Spain. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Spain, the street network in El Puerto de Santa María has become more disconnected. El Puerto de Santa María ranked 16th in 1975, 10th in 1976-1990, 10th in 1991-2000 and 13th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, El Puerto de Santa María had a built-up area of 13.6 square kilometers, and a population of 55399 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: