Street-network Sprawl in San Rafael del Mojan, Venezuela

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.

San Rafael del Mojan: city in Zulia, Venezuela

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 San Rafael del Mojan, Venezuela on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in San Rafael del Mojan as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.35, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 1.37, nan, 1.08 and 1.88. Data was not available in 1976-1990.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in San Rafael del Mojan spans a total of 68 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed prior to 1975. These roads have an SNDi of 1.37, 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 1.37, 1.37, 1.34 and 1.35. Disconnectivity in San Rafael del Mojan's street network follows a zig-zag trend. In 1991-2000, the city was most disconnected; while it was most connected in 1975.

San Rafael del Mojan and Zulia do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. There was not enough data from the city, as well as the Zulia's street network construction.

How do development practices in San Rafael del Mojan fare in comparison to others in Zulia? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in San Rafael del Mojan was the 5th-most disconnected out of the 9 cities in Zulia. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Zulia, street construction in San Rafael del Mojan has become more disconnected. San Rafael del Mojan ranked 8th in 1975, 9th in 1991-2000 and 5th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

San Rafael del Mojan and Venezuela do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. There was not enough data from the city, as well as the Venezuela's street network construction.

How do development practices in San Rafael del Mojan fare in comparison to others in Venezuela? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in San Rafael del Mojan was the 52nd-most disconnected out of the 75 cities in Venezuela. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Venezuela, street construction in San Rafael del Mojan has become more disconnected. San Rafael del Mojan ranked 63rd in 1975, 59th in 1991-2000 and 52nd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1976-1990 due to unavailable data.

San Rafael del Mojan and Zulia do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in San Rafael del Mojan followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease, while the SNDi of street constructions in Zulia rose steadily.

To date, San Rafael del Mojan is the 8th-most disconnected out of the 9 cities in Zulia. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. San Rafael del Mojan ranked 8th in 1975, 8th in 1976-1990, 8th in 1991-2000 and 8th in 2001-2014.

San Rafael del Mojan and Venezuela do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in San Rafael del Mojan followed a zig-zag trend with an overall decrease, while the SNDi of street constructions in Venezuela rose steadily.

To date, San Rafael del Mojan is the 68th-most disconnected out of the 75 cities in Venezuela. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Venezuela, the street network in San Rafael del Mojan has become more connected. San Rafael del Mojan ranked 63rd in 1975, 63rd in 1976-1990, 65th in 1991-2000 and 68th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, San Rafael del Mojan had a built-up area of 3.72 square kilometers, and a population of 70187 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: