Street-network Sprawl in New Halfa, Sudan

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.

New Halfa: city in Kassala, Sudan

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 New Halfa, Sudan on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in New Halfa as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.5, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 6.57, 0.35, 0.24 and 0.55. The disconnectivity of new streets constructed in New Halfa fell, then rose. In 1991-2000, new street layouts were the most connected.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in New Halfa spans a total of 237 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 2001-2014. These roads have an SNDi of 0.55, 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 6.57, 0.46, 0.38 and 0.5. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but New Halfa has worsened in disconnectivity since 2000.

New Halfa and Kassala follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi for both of these was at its lowest in 1991-2000.

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

New Halfa and Sudan do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in New Halfa was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Sudan peaked in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in New Halfa fare in comparison to others in Sudan? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in New Halfa was the 34th-most disconnected out of the 63 cities in Sudan. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Sudan, street construction in New Halfa has become more connected. New Halfa ranked 2nd in 1975, 21st in 1976-1990, 27th in 1991-2000 and 34th in 2001-2014.

New Halfa and Kassala do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in New Halfa was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Kassala fell steadily.

To date, New Halfa is the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 2 cities in Kassala. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Kassala, the street network in New Halfa has become more connected. New Halfa ranked 1st in 1975, 1st in 1976-1990, 2nd in 1991-2000 and 2nd in 2001-2014.

New Halfa and Sudan do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in New Halfa was at its lowest in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Sudan rose steadily.

To date, New Halfa is the 34th-most disconnected out of the 63 cities in Sudan. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Sudan, the street network in New Halfa has become more connected. New Halfa ranked 2nd in 1975, 19th in 1976-1990, 30th in 1991-2000 and 34th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, New Halfa had a built-up area of 3.94 square kilometers, and a population of 144376 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: