Street-network Sprawl in Quảng Phú, Vietnam

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.

Quảng Phú: city in Đắk Lắk, Vietnam

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 Quảng Phú, Vietnam on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Quảng Phú as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.27, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 0.9, -1.34, nan and 1.96. Data was not available in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Quảng Phú spans a total of 88 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 2001-2014. These roads have an SNDi of 1.96, 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 0.9, -0.03, 0.0 and 1.27. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Quảng Phú has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Quảng Phú and Đắk Lắk do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in Đắk Lắk rose steadily.

How do development practices in Quảng Phú fare in comparison to others in Đắk Lắk? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Quảng Phú was the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 3 cities in Đắk Lắk. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Đắk Lắk, street construction in Quảng Phú has become more connected. Quảng Phú ranked 2nd in 1975, 3rd in 1976-1990 and 2nd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Quảng Phú and Vietnam do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in Vietnam rose steadily.

How do development practices in Quảng Phú fare in comparison to others in Vietnam? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Quảng Phú was the 76th-most disconnected out of the 129 cities in Vietnam. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Vietnam, street construction in Quảng Phú has become more connected. Quảng Phú ranked 70th in 1975, 104th in 1976-1990 and 76th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1991-2000 due to unavailable data.

Quảng Phú and Đắk Lắk do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Quảng Phú was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Đắk Lắk rose steadily.

To date, Quảng Phú is the 2nd-most disconnected out of the 3 cities in Đắk Lắk. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has not changed. Quảng Phú ranked 2nd in 1975, 2nd in 1976-1990, 3rd in 1991-2000 and 2nd in 2001-2014.

Quảng Phú and Vietnam do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. The SNDi in Quảng Phú was at its lowest in 1976-1990, while the SNDi of street constructions in Vietnam rose steadily.

To date, Quảng Phú is the 103rd-most disconnected out of the 129 cities in Vietnam. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Vietnam, the street network in Quảng Phú has become more connected. Quảng Phú ranked 70th in 1975, 118th in 1976-1990, 123rd in 1991-2000 and 103rd in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Quảng Phú had a built-up area of 2.89 square kilometers, and a population of 56655 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: