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50 Times City Architects Failed To Understand People’s Needs, And It Resulted In These ‘Desire Paths’ Appearing Around The City
Merriam Webster dictionary defines a desire path as “an unplanned route or path (such as one worn into a grassy surface by repeated foot traffic) that is used by pedestrians in preference to or in the absence of a designated alternative (such as a paved pathway).”
This may sound like a pretty formal definition, but in its heart, desire paths show so much more than our daily shortcuts and preferred ways to reach destinations. They reflect routines, habits and presence of a living being, whether it’s a human or an animal. They stand like lines of traces carved well into dirt, grass, and anywhere, really.
There’s even this mesmerizing corner of Reddit, “Desire Paths,” “dedicated to the paths that humans prefer, rather than the paths that humans create.” Below we wrapped up some of the most interesting examples that capture our imagination.
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#1
The World’s (Actual) Greatest Desire Path! He Carved A Road Through A Mountain Over 22yrs To Shorten The Distance From His Village To The Nearest Hospital From 70km To 1km
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#2
My Cat Passed Away Last Night. These Were His Paths
#3
If You Try Sometimes, You Get What You Need
When you want a shortcut, whether when going from the bus stop to the office or stopping by the corner shop, but the path designated for you seems way longer, you pick an unbeaten path instead. You soon realize that many others before you have already done that by traces it left in the grass.
Robert Macfarlane describes desire paths as “paths and tracks made over time by the wishes & feet of walkers, especially those paths that run contrary to design or planning”; he calls them “free-will ways”. JM Barrie described them as “Paths that have Made Themselves”. There’s something both fascinating and somewhat mysterious about them, so no wonder there are countless Reddit threads and communities dedicated to them.
#4
Generations Of Bunnies Have Worn A Perfect Groove In My Neighbor's Fence
#5
After Our Dog Passed, We Turned His Desire Path Into A Forever Path
#6
Desire Path Of A 17yo Kitty
To find out more about this mesmerizing community on Reddit named “Desire Paths”, Bored Panda reached out to its moderator C.M. Gillespie, who happily shared some insights. “When I originally joined the subreddit, it was about 3000 subscribers deep. I’d seen someone mention it in a comment section, likely on a post of a desire path on /r/pics or a mention in /r/AskReddit of these paths being paved following natural foot traffic on a college campus,” the mod explained.
They also recounted: “A user named SecularScience created the subreddit after someone posted a picture of a desire path on another subreddit, probably /r/pics, and a commenter noted that they have a name! It emerged out of curiosity.”
#7
The Oval Walkways At Ohio State University Were Paved Based On The Students' Desire Paths
Passerby 2 years ago
Well, changing the path to fit the human is easier than changing the human to fit the path. The students at my school often just cut the corners of the lawn in front of a building, as that was the shortest route. There was an attempt to stop them from doing that, but with no avail. The school finally gave up and just built a walking path through that corner of the lawn.
#8
Found This Beautiful Path Earlier This Year
#9
Found A Lovely One In Dorset
According to the moderator of the Desire Paths subreddit, to this day, word of mouth continues to be how the community finds each other. “When someone unknowingly posts a picture of a desire path, people tag the subreddit and the community grows.”
Gillespie told us that desire paths are so fun to spot. “Once people know they have a name, they start seeing them all over the place. It’s a ‘once you see, you can’t unsee’ scenario.”
#10
Doggo Desire Path At A Local Off-Leash Park. Remember That Pavement Can Be Too Hot For Paws On A Sunny Day!
Jennifer Norton 2 years ago
there are a couple of nature preserves in the city I live in with paved paths and on the sides of all of them are paths like this that dogs have made! I love it!
#11
It Took 4 Years
#12
The Ants In My Garage Built A Bridge Over My Glue Trap
According to the Redditor, “If you haven’t noticed a desire path before, look for worn-down grass made by people who step off the sidewalk and decide to take the shortcut instead. They’re not the designated, paved paths. They’re paths that are trod on the grass in between.”
Interestingly, in Dutch, they’re called “elephant paths” by some people, though Gillespie said they are not sure if that term is commonly used. “I think the translation is Olifantenpaadje. Someone on the subreddit said they’re called Trampelpfad in German.”
#13
The Never Ending Path
#14
I'm In A Long Distance Relationship With My Girlfriend, And This Is Where I Walk When I'm On The Phone With Her Every Night
#15
Ux vs. Design
zububonsai 2 years ago (edited)
"Mankind moves like water, always prefers the shortest way possible." Architects and landscape architects who design longer "more beautiful" routes and ignore this basic traffic knowledge deserve to be shot by martial law. (This is the hill I'll die on, I'm a parcel deliverer 😡)--- Every pedestrian suffers and swears silently... What's the point in making your customers uncomfortable??! Like in the picture above: A sliiight curve in a shorter way would have been okay (like the shortcut created by "walking voters"), the paved craziness is just a sad sight.
Andrew Furman, a professor in interior design and architecture at Ryerson University in Toronto, has been researching desire paths for years. According to him, they tell us something about “the endless human desire to have a choice. The importance of not having someone prescribe your path”.
“An individual can really write their own story. It’s something really powerful if you do have that agency to move,” Furman argues. Desire paths allow us to “not follow the script,” something that can be interpreted as a form of resistance. This is because in a heavily constructed city, there are “rules as to how public and public-private spaces are used”, Furman believes.
#16
At The Student Residence. I Tried To Walk The Intended Path For Once. It Was Long
Amused panda 2 years ago
Presumably constructed with so many curves to allow disabled access without too steep an incline.
#17
Superstition
Dodomaster Lord of chickens 2 years ago
Why has it taken so long to be repaired though, I mean there's an entire path around it.
#18
Desire Stairs
#19
This College Paved Over The Desire Paths After Waiting A Year To See Where Mud Trails Formed
#20
My Dog's Desire Path Is Filling Up With Flower Petals. Looks Pretty At The Moment!
#21
Yes Yes Yes!!
#22
Honestly I’m Not Sure What They Expected
Jennifer Norton 2 years ago
usually those circles are put in for cyclist so they can turn around easier. But they should have anticipated walkers not using it and paved the middle as well.
#23
Desire Path Spotted On The Campus Of Monster's University
#24
Found This As A Post On Facebook. Elephant Paths Anyone?
#25
Does This Count? A Footpath So Badly Constructed Nobody Wants To Use It
#26
Not Sure If This Is Allowed. Swimming Paths Made By A Moorhen On The Way To And From Its Nest
Donkey boi 2 years ago
I don't care what the rules are for this sub. I'm saying this is allowed!
#27
The Sidewalks On My School’s Quad Are Not Symmetrical Because They Were Installed Based On Where The Grass Was Worn Out…
#28
One Step Desire Path. Shortest One Ever
#29
My College Put Sod On The Path And Put Up A Sign. The Students Listened To The Sign And Created A Path Next To The Sod
#30
She’s Made A Few Desire Paths. I Like This One The Most
#31
Google Acknowledges The Desire Paths On Our Campus
Nizumi 2 years ago (edited)
Google did this to me in Barcelona. That "path" along the wall? Yeah - Google Maps showed that. IMG_7299-6...39828d.jpg 
#32
This Path In Russia Is Very Desired
#33
You Can’t Make This Stuff Up
#34
Was Told To Post This Here, So Here I Am Posting This Here
#35
Squirrel Desire Path
#36
Well Worn Wall Mart Path. Deepest I've Ever Seen
#37
It Seems We Desire A Sidewalk
Jennifer Norton 2 years ago
it amazes me how many cities don't have sidewalks everywhere. The city I live has tons of places without sidewalks and there are people walking all the time. I mean we have 2 major sports arenas in our city and there are sidewalks there but just two blocks over... no side walks. like what?!?!!?
#38
People Made A Desire Pentagram Inside A Big Roundabout
#39
My Dad Shoveled A Path But The Rest Of The Family Decided It Was Too Far
#40
This Desire Path Has Slowly Disappeared Now That No One Is Coming To The Office Due To Covid... Wonder How Many Others Are Disappearing
#41
Restrictions In Poland Hitting Hard
#42
If This Isn't A Big Enough Sign That You Need To Trim Your Hedges More Often I Don't Know What Is
#43
My Moms Path For Entering And Leaving The Lake
#44
Extreme Desire Path
#45
Technical University Delft (Nl) Paved All Desire Paths
#46
What Am I To Do With The 2 Seconds I Saved Today?
#47
My University Giving Into The Desire Path
#48
Check Out The Size Of This Absolute Unit
#49
Dutch Anti-Cobblestone Bicycle Desire Path
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What do you think ?
Caroline Sinclair 2 years ago
Respect to the organisations and institutions who accepted the reality of human choice! Hopefully those who are too stubborn to follow the wisdom of desire paths will see the light eventually.
Wendy 2 years ago
Although this isn't always the case, sometimes architects have our hands tied in regards to this. Here in the US we have to apply ADA regulations for accessibility. This means that pathways must be within a certain slope, width etc. So in order to follow the law, we can't use the easiest path.
Load More Replies...
liam newton-harding 2 years ago
Wish I could remember the name of the architect, but he would never design paths around his buildings, or campuses. Instead, 6-12 months after the building was completed, and occupied, he would come back, look at the desire paths, and have them paved, or tarmaced.
Caroline Sinclair 2 years ago
Respect to the organisations and institutions who accepted the reality of human choice! Hopefully those who are too stubborn to follow the wisdom of desire paths will see the light eventually.
Wendy 2 years ago
Although this isn't always the case, sometimes architects have our hands tied in regards to this. Here in the US we have to apply ADA regulations for accessibility. This means that pathways must be within a certain slope, width etc. So in order to follow the law, we can't use the easiest path.
Load More Replies... liam newton-harding 2 years ago
Wish I could remember the name of the architect, but he would never design paths around his buildings, or campuses. Instead, 6-12 months after the building was completed, and occupied, he would come back, look at the desire paths, and have them paved, or tarmaced.
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