Street-network Sprawl in Đắk Hà, 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.

Đắk Hà: city in Kon Tum, 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 Đắk Hà, Vietnam on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Đắk Hà as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.74, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, 0.72, 2.71 and 2.09. Data was not available in 1975.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Đắk Hà spans a total of 40 kilometers. The period with the greatest volume of street construction was 1991-2000. These roads have an SNDi of 2.71, 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 nan, 0.67, 1.68 and 1.74. Data was not available in 1975.

Đắk Hà and Kon Tum 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 Kon Tum rose steadily.

How do development practices in Đắk Hà fare in comparison to others in Kon Tum? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Đắk Hà was the 1st-most disconnected out of the 2 cities in Kon Tum. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Kon Tum, street construction in Đắk Hà has become more disconnected. Đắk Hà ranked 2nd in 1976-1990, 1st in 1991-2000 and 1st in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Đắk Hà 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 Đắk Hà fare in comparison to others in Vietnam? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Đắk Hà was the 71st-most disconnected out of the 129 cities in Vietnam. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Vietnam, street construction in Đắk Hà has become more disconnected. Đắk Hà ranked 86th in 1976-1990, 46th in 1991-2000 and 71st in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Đắk Hà and Kon Tum do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in Kon Tum rose steadily.

To date, Đắk Hà is the 1st-most disconnected out of the 2 cities in Kon Tum. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Kon Tum, the street network in Đắk Hà has become more disconnected. Đắk Hà ranked 2nd in 1976-1990, 1st in 1991-2000 and 1st in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Đắk Hà and Vietnam do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their aggregate street networks. There was not enough data from the city, while the SNDi of street constructions in Vietnam rose steadily.

To date, Đắk Hà is the 81st-most disconnected out of the 129 cities in Vietnam. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Vietnam, the street network in Đắk Hà has become more disconnected. Đắk Hà ranked 105th in 1976-1990, 80th in 1991-2000 and 81st in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Đắk Hà had a built-up area of 0.94 square kilometers, and a population of 51520 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: