Street-network Sprawl in Luwingu, Zambia

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.

Luwingu: city in Northern, Zambia

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 Luwingu, Zambia on the sprawlmap

Most recent snapshot: Taking into account the entire (i.e. aggregate) street network in Luwingu as of 2014, the overall level of street-network sprawl is 1.09, which is relatively well-connected.

Trends in street network construction: The SNDis of street construction for the respective time periods are nan, 2.31, nan and nan. Data was not available in 1975, 1991-2000 and 2001-2014.

Quantity of street network construction: The street network in Luwingu spans a total of 12 kilometers. It is dominated by roads constructed in 1976-1990. These roads have an SNDi of 2.31, 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, 1.08, 1.08 and 1.09. Data was not available in 1975.

Luwingu and Northern 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 Northern peaked in 1991-2000.

How do development practices in Luwingu fare in comparison to others in Northern? out of the 4 cities in Northern. Luwingu ranked 2nd in 1976-1990. There was no ranking in 1975, 1991-2000, and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Luwingu and Zambia 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 Zambia rose steadily.

How do development practices in Luwingu fare in comparison to others in Zambia? out of the 38 cities in Zambia. Luwingu ranked 12th in 1976-1990. There was no ranking in 1975, 1991-2000, and 2001-2014 due to unavailable data.

Luwingu and Northern 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 Northern rose steadily.

To date, Luwingu is the 3rd-most disconnected out of the 4 cities in Northern. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has risen; relative to other cities in Northern, the street network in Luwingu has become more disconnected. Luwingu ranked 4th in 1976-1990, 3rd in 1991-2000 and 3rd in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

Luwingu and Zambia 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 Zambia rose steadily.

To date, Luwingu is the 34th-most disconnected out of the 38 cities in Zambia. Its position in the ranks since 1975 has fallen; relative to other cities in Zambia, the street network in Luwingu has become more connected. Luwingu ranked 30th in 1976-1990, 29th in 1991-2000 and 34th in 2001-2014. There was no ranking in 1975 due to unavailable data.

As of 2015, Luwingu had a built-up area of 0.46 square kilometers, and a population of 54129 people.

These are some other cities with approximately the same population: