Barcelona: city in Cataluña, 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 Barcelona, Spain on the sprawlmap
Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Barcelona as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.68, which is relatively well-connected.
Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.56, 2.44, 2.37 and 1.98. Street construction in Barcelona increased in disconnectivity initially but has since improved. The streets constructed in 1976-1990 were the most disconnected.
Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Barcelona spans a total of 7069 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 0.56, 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 0.56, 0.65, 0.67 and 0.68. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Barcelona has become more disconnected. This increase has slowed: between 1975 and 1976-1990, SNDi rose by 0.09 points, but between 1991-2000 and 2001-2014, it rose by just 0.01.
Barcelona and Cataluña do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Barcelona peaked in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Cataluña rose steadily.
How do development practices in Barcelona fare in comparison to others in Cataluña? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Barcelona was the 3rd-most disconnected out of the 9 cities in Cataluña. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Cataluña, street construction in Barcelona has become more connected. Barcelona ranked 2nd in 1975, 2nd in 1976-1990, 3rd in 1991-2000 and 3rd in 2001-2014.
Barcelona and Spain do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Barcelona peaked in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Spain peaked in 1991-2000.
How do development practices in Barcelona fare in comparison to others in Spain? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Barcelona was the 27th-most disconnected out of the 72 cities in Spain. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Spain, street construction in Barcelona has become more disconnected. Barcelona ranked 37th in 1975, 17th in 1976-1990, 26th in 1991-2000 and 27th in 2001-2014.
Barcelona and Cataluña follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.
To date, Barcelona is the 4th-most disconnected out of the 9 cities in Cataluña. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Cataluña, the street network in Barcelona has become more connected. Barcelona ranked 2nd in 1975, 3rd in 1976-1990, 3rd in 1991-2000 and 4th in 2001-2014.
Barcelona and Spain follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.
To date, Barcelona is the 50th-most disconnected out of the 72 cities in Spain. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Spain, the street network in Barcelona has become more connected. Barcelona ranked 37th in 1975, 45th in 1976-1990, 48th in 1991-2000 and 50th in 2001-2014.
As of 2015, Barcelona had a built-up area of 308.67 square kilometers, and a population of 3832012 people.
These are some other cities with approximately the same population: