Street-network Sprawl in Fort Portal, Uganda

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.

Fort Portal: city in Kabarole, Uganda

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 Fort Portal, Uganda on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Fort Portal as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 2.98, which is in the 40th to 60th percentile of disconnectedness.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 4.05, 1.89, 3.02 and 4.58. The disconnectivity of new streets constructed in Fort Portal fell, then rose. In 1976-1990, new street layouts were the most connected.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Fort Portal spans a total of 59 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1991-2000. These roads have an SNDi of 3.02, which is in the 40th to 60th percentile of disconnectedness.

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 4.05, 2.72, 2.85 and 2.98. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Fort Portal has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Fort Portal and Kabarole follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi for both of these was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

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

Fort Portal and Uganda follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi for both of these was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

How do development practices in Fort Portal fare in comparison to others in Uganda? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Fort Portal was the 8th-most disconnected out of the 26 cities in Uganda. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Uganda, street construction in Fort Portal has become more connected. Fort Portal ranked 2nd in 1975, 10th in 1976-1990, 11th in 1991-2000 and 8th in 2001-2014.

Fort Portal and Kabarole follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi for both of these was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

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

Fort Portal and Uganda do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Fort Portal was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Uganda was at its lowest in 1991-2000.

To date, Fort Portal is the 12th-most disconnected out of the 26 cities in Uganda. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Uganda, the street network in Fort Portal has become more connected. Fort Portal ranked 2nd in 1975, 6th in 1976-1990, 7th in 1991-2000 and 12th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Fort Portal had a built-up area of 1.07 square kilometers, and a population of 80499 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: