@Natasha_Jay not really in the spirit of the whole thing, but unpaved packed earth paths can be used by some bees and insects to nest in, so yay desire paths.

@Natasha_Jay When I first heard of this concept, they were called 'meander-ways' and I prefer it. 😊

Great comic. Love the Alt-text, too.

@Natasha_Jay

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desire_path

@Natasha_Jay 😅 👍

@Natasha_Jay unrealistic. There's no anti-homeless barrier on that bench.

@Natasha_Jay @hayify 👆

@Natasha_Jay I love desire paths!

@Natasha_Jay I studied landscape architecture and was taught that if a desire path is necessary, the architectural design was bad to begin with.

@Natasha_Jay

This tickled my brain. :D

@sotolf

@Natasha_Jay This rendition of the concept is fantastic. Love it!

@Natasha_Jay This is about my level of problem with authority too 😂😆🤣

@Natasha_Jay LOL

@Natasha_Jay

@anacpaim.bsky.social

@Natasha_Jay
massive props for finding a way to do an actual image description im ashamed to say i might have given up in your place

@Natasha_Jay and all I can think of is the poor #OpenStreetMap'er who has to make the updates on the map :-P

@Natasha_Jay the last frame made me chuckle.

@Natasha_Jay I love seeing these IRL.
Makes me take pause when making decision as to what the actual desire requirement is not what I think looks neatest.

@Natasha_Jay The war on desire paths never ends, every accommodation of the path creates a new desire path, call it the rebellious nature of the human spirit.

@Natasha_Jay don't forget to map them in osm 🤭

An article about desire paths: https://99percentinvisible.org/article/least-resistance-desire-paths-can-lead-better-design/

A podcast episode about desire paths (and other things): https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/you-should-do-a-story/

@Natasha_Jay

#99pi #podcast #99PercentInvisible #design #architecture

@Natasha_Jay the last frame sent me

@Natasha_Jay Desire paths are data, already visualised. All the planners need is to just act on it.

@Natasha_Jay

Yup, thats pretty much how it goes.

@Natasha_Jay

In Germany it is called:

Gestaltung durch Nutzung

in english speaking countries:
Elephant paths ?

@Natasha_Jay

Feel like there are parallels with CyberSecurity.

@Natasha_Jay

Life finds a way.

@Natasha_Jay

Makes me want to play Cities Skylines.

@Natasha_Jay
So my takeaway is this: If I want a park bench and shrubbery, I need to form a desire path! 😉

@Natasha_Jay there’s a community process off page

@Natasha_Jay

Planting poison ivy and camouflaged steel traps works well.

@Natasha_Jay True

@Natasha_Jay desire paths find a way!

@Natasha_Jay cuánta belleza

@Natasha_Jay i like this so much

@Natasha_Jay 😀 We had (literally) exactly that situation in Passau The city gov didn´t want the people to cross the local market place diagonally between the university and the bus terminal, so they planted roses. After the thorny roses were "walked over" at a specific point they built a wire fence there. That too was "walked away". Finally the city gov gave up and paved a way through... Power to the people!

@Natasha_Jay Nørreport station square in Copenhagen did something similar https://www.cobe.dk/projects/norreport-station

@Natasha_Jay bugs in software...

@Natasha_Jay If I remember correctly, Kassel Uni (or was it Hohenheim?) did the same with a new block: wait for the desire lines to appear before completing the external groundwork and paving. It takes guts and is not easy to pull off in terms of the bill of quantities and tendering.
I recently put a triangular deadwood habitat structure into a plan where a desire line is waiting to happen because of the way the paths were laid out (not our doing). #landscapearchitecture

@Natasha_Jay Politcal and business paths around (new) laws

@Natasha_Jay maybe you want to respect the artist: https://www.instagram.com/p/DE24GKTNRAs/?igsh=MTU2OTI1NDBuYWpyMw==

@Natasha_Jay Wunderbar auf den Punkt gebracht! 😄👍

@Natasha_Jay

Fill the entire lot with trashcans except for the intended path.
I’ve seen it work in Sims.

@Natasha_Jay This is great

@Natasha_Jay so accurate, cute, and funny 😆

@Natasha_Jay Michigan state university https://statenews.com/article/2023/10/desire-paths-how-the-art-of-deviant-pedestrianism-shapes-msu-campus

@Natasha_Jay So common on university campuses.

@Natasha_Jay
My university had this problem. Until it paved over all the grass in an open area, people were going to take short cuts on that grass.

@Natasha_Jay I'll have you know this comic inspired a small bit of worldbuilding for my sona's kingdom/queendom~

https://rubber.social/@dragonarchitect/113838362979583606

@Natasha_Jay
Boosting, if nothing else, then for the fantastic #AltText
@pluralistic

@Natasha_Jay original seems to be at https://www.instagram.com/p/DE24GKTNRAs/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

@Natasha_Jay

@Natasha_Jay i had to photograph this one last fall near local uni.

@Natasha_Jay I love desire lines as an optimisation solution. It's not far off Ant Colony Optimisation, just fewer pheromones.

@Natasha_Jay Walked across a tiny desire path today, it can only be about two strides long.

Just because.

@Natasha_Jay everything needs to be free to change

@Natasha_Jay
I worked with a university campus planner some years ago, and I called him one day to lay out the sidewalks related to our project. And he said, sure, we would put the sidewalks where we thought they should go, but in a few years we’d go back to see where the sidewalks actually belonged. That was an eye-opening experience.

@Natasha_Jay I love this so much. Do you sell prints? I could use a reminder in my office.

@Natasha_Jay Haha, perfect! There's a lot of psychological intrigue here.

@Natasha_Jay I love the punchline

@Natasha_Jay

What a beautiful alt text. 🙇​

@Natasha_Jay that 12th image made me laugh.

"Okay, okay, you can have this path! Happy now?"

"Weeellllllll....."

@Natasha_Jay UI vs UX ;-)

@Natasha_Jay This was a desire path in the late 70's, eventually they caved in and paved it. There was all sorts of uproar at the time about people staying off the grass. Students rushing to class in the morning or heading home at night are NOT going to take the long scenic route.

@Natasha_Jay@tech.lgbt This is a poem. To me.

@Natasha_Jay so get rid of grass!!!! Ewww

@Natasha_Jay

< Life, uh.. Finds a way .gif > 🙂

@Natasha_Jay hey @chazhutton desire lines is doing numbers on Mastodon

@Natasha_Jay *lol*

@Natasha_Jay

I wish I could get this entire cartoon as a tattoo! Brava!

@Natasha_Jay @troberts Love desire paths! Have a few near me.

@Natasha_Jay wait for a fresh snowfall and the desired paths appear !

@Natasha_Jay desire paths, beloved ❤️

@Natasha_Jay Lots of them like those in my town.

@Natasha_Jay haha, well put

@Natasha_Jay @treleanor No bench or bin, but this desire path is well used.

@Natasha_Jay or let slime mold design the paths.

@Natasha_Jay

There must be some other solution. I'm sure they'll come up with it.

@Natasha_Jay thanks for sharing this! That's visual #poetry to me 🥲, I never thought such plain and everyday elements could be so moving.

@Natasha_Jay

Wow.

@Natasha_Jay
Once you realize this, you stop trying to change people. Trouble is it takes years to realize this.

@Natasha_Jay People using this path know where they want to go.

@Natasha_Jay this is formidable and true af

@Natasha_Jay I feel it in my soul.