Desire paths have been described as illustrating “the tension between the native and the built environment and our relationship to them”. Because they often form in areas where there are no pavements, they can be seen to “indicate [the] yearning” of those wishing to walk, a way for “city dwellers to ‘write back’ to city planners, giving feedback with their feet”. — The Guardian
Ellie Violet Bramley pens an ode to "desire paths"—organically grown foot paths off the prescribed paved sidewalks; pedestrians' yearning for urban movement outside of the planned city order.
5 Comments
#resist
This has nothing to do with civil disobedience, it is simply a reaction to bad design.
Washington Square Park in NYC has paved walks that run diagonally across the square and curved loops that connect them. Landscaping and park elements such as benches are used to further define the walkways. It's quite nice actually and has survived generations of very heavy traffic - unlike the idiotic gridded "design" in the photo above - where even the trees are placed in a grid pattern.
Harvard
"Least Resistance: How Desire Paths Can Lead to Better Design"
https://99percentinvisible.org...
Get off my lawn!
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