Street-network Sprawl in Uppsala, Sweden

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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:

• nodal degree
• dendricity, the tree-likeness of the street network
• circuity, the ratio of the distance by road to the straight-line distance of two locations on the street network
• sinuosity, the curviness of a street

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:

• Global trends toward urban street-network sprawl
• A global assessment of street-network sprawl

To see the state of street-network sprawl across the globe, visit the sprawlmap.

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Uppsala: city in Sweden

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 Uppsala, Sweden on the sprawlmap

How have Uppsala's street networks changed over time?

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Uppsala as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.31, which is very well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.25, 0.57, 1.4 and 0.7. Street construction in Uppsala increased in disconnectivity initially but has since improved. The streets constructed in 1991-2000 were the most disconnected.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Uppsala spans a total of 353 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 0.25, which is very 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 0.25, 0.28, 0.31 and 0.31. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Uppsala has become more disconnected. This increase has slowed: between 1975 and 1976-1990, SNDi rose by 0.03 points, but between 1991-2000 and 2001-2014, it rose by just 0.0.

Uppsala in context: Street-network sprawl of new development

Uppsala and Uppsala follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi for both of these peaked in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in Uppsala fare in comparison to others in Uppsala? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Uppsala was the 1st-most disconnected out of the 1 cities in Uppsala. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Uppsala ranked 1st in 1975, 1st in 1976-1990, 1st in 1991-2000 and 1st in 2001-2014.

Uppsala and Sweden do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Uppsala peaked in 1991-2000, while the SNDi of street constructions in Sweden rose steadily.

How do development practices in Uppsala fare in comparison to others in Sweden? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Uppsala was the 11th-most disconnected out of the 12 cities in Sweden. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Uppsala ranked 11th in 1975, 10th in 1976-1990, 8th in 1991-2000 and 11th in 2001-2014.

Uppsala in context: Aggregate street-network sprawl

Uppsala and Uppsala follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.

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

Uppsala and Sweden follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.

To date, Uppsala is the 11th-most disconnected out of the 12 cities in Sweden. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Uppsala ranked 11th in 1975, 11th in 1976-1990, 11th in 1991-2000 and 11th in 2001-2014.

What about other similarly-populated cities?

As of 2015, Uppsala had a built-up area of 17.81 square kilometers, and a population of 109541 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population:

• Simi Valley, United States
• Namacurra, Mozambique
• Mayna, India