Street-network Sprawl in Trà Vinh City, 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.

Trà Vinh City: city in Trà Vinh, 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 Trà Vinh City, Vietnam on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Trà Vinh City as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 0.91, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are 1.03, 0.45, 3.05 and 1.86. Disconnectivity in street construction in Trà Vinh City follows a zig-zag trend. In 1976-1990, street construction was most disconnected, while construction was most connected in 1991-2000.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Trà Vinh City spans a total of 144 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 0.45, 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 1.03, 0.44, 0.66 and 0.91. The SNDi of the aggregate street network in fell at first, but Trà Vinh City has worsened in disconnectivity since 1990.

Trà Vinh City and Trà Vinh do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Trà Vinh City followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase, while the SNDi of street constructions in Trà Vinh was at its lowest in 1976-1990.

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

Trà Vinh City and Vietnam do not follow the same trend in the disconnectivity of their street network constructions. The SNDi in Trà Vinh City followed a zig-zag trend with an overall increase, while the SNDi of street constructions in Vietnam rose steadily.

How do development practices in Trà Vinh City fare in comparison to others in Vietnam? Most recently in 2001-2014, street construction in Trà Vinh City was the 80th-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 Trà Vinh City has become more connected. Trà Vinh City ranked 67th in 1975, 92nd in 1976-1990, 40th in 1991-2000 and 80th in 2001-2014.

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

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

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

To date, Trà Vinh City is the 111th-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 Trà Vinh City has become more connected. Trà Vinh City ranked 67th in 1975, 109th in 1976-1990, 111th in 1991-2000 and 111th in 2001-2014.

As of 2015, Trà Vinh City had a built-up area of 5.68 square kilometers, and a population of 159016 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: