Street-network Sprawl in Zurich, Switzerland

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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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Zurich: city in Zürich, Switzerland

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 Zurich, Switzerland on the sprawlmap

How have Zurich's street networks changed over time?

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Zurich as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.67, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.53, 1.94, 1.98 and 4.29. In each period, new street development in Zurich steadily grows more disconnected than in the last.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Zurich spans a total of 2213 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 0.53, 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 0.53, 0.66, 0.66 and 0.67. Overall, the SNDi of the aggregate street network has risen: the street network in Zurich has become more disconnected. This increase has slowed: between 1975 and 1976-1990, SNDi rose by 0.13 points, but between 1991-2000 and 2001-2014, it rose by just 0.01.

Zurich in context: Street-network sprawl of new development

Zurich and Zürich follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.

How do development practices in Zurich fare in comparison to others in Zürich? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Zurich was the 1st-most disconnected out of the 2 cities in Zürich. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Zurich ranked 1st in 1975, 1st in 1976-1990, 1st in 1991-2000 and 1st in 2001-2014.

Zurich and Switzerland follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi for both of these rose steadily.

How do development practices in Zurich fare in comparison to others in Switzerland? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Zurich was the 6th-most disconnected out of the 16 cities in Switzerland. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Switzerland, street construction in Zurich has become more disconnected. Zurich ranked 15th in 1975, 15th in 1976-1990, 7th in 1991-2000 and 6th in 2001-2014.

Zurich in context: Aggregate street-network sprawl

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

To date, Zurich is the 1st-most disconnected out of the 2 cities in Zürich. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Zurich ranked 1st in 1975, 1st in 1976-1990, 1st in 1991-2000 and 1st in 2001-2014.

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

To date, Zurich is the 15th-most disconnected out of the 16 cities in Switzerland. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Zurich ranked 15th in 1975, 15th in 1976-1990, 15th in 1991-2000 and 15th in 2001-2014.

What about other similarly-populated cities?

As of 2015, Zurich had a built-up area of 117.77 square kilometers, and a population of 732493 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population:

• Nice, France
• Sagar, India
• Jiaozuo, China