2024-11-23T21:13:36-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/150089894/desire-paths-as-urban-civil-disobedience Alexander Walter 2018-10-08T15:47:00-04:00 >2024-03-15T01:45:58-04:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/c7/c7c0cfcad0eec0caf0f884e50ea67912.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><em><p>Desire paths have been described as illustrating &ldquo;the tension between the native and the built environment and our relationship to them&rdquo;. Because they often form in areas where there are no pavements, they can be seen to &ldquo;indicate [the] yearning&rdquo; of those wishing to walk, a way for &ldquo;city dwellers to &lsquo;write back&rsquo; to city planners, giving feedback with their feet&rdquo;.</p></em><br /><br /><p>Ellie Violet Bramley pens an ode to "desire paths"&mdash;organically grown foot paths off the prescribed paved sidewalks; pedestrians' yearning for urban movement outside of the planned city order.</p> <figure><p><a href="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/c9/c9fc3d850e6894fd40c0be54cac89ac2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;w=1028" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/c9/c9fc3d850e6894fd40c0be54cac89ac2.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&amp;w=514"></a></p><figcaption>Example of an urban desire path getting paved in Chicago. Photo: Paul Sableman/Flickr.</figcaption></figure>