{{Short description|Improvised footpath created by frequent trampling}} {{redirect|Desire lines}} [[File:Desire path - 52849400711.jpg|thumb|A desire path through a patch of grass between concrete sidewalks at The Ohio State University]]
A '''desire path''' (also known as '''desire line''' in transportation planning and by many other names{{efn|including '''game trail''', '''social trail''', '''fishermen trail''', '''destiny path''', '''herd path''', '''cow path''', '''elephant path''', '''buffalo trace''', '''goat track''', '''pig trail, use trail''' and '''bootleg trail'''}}) is an unplanned small trail formed by erosion caused by human or animal traffic. The path usually represents the shortest or the most easily navigated route between an origin and destination. The width and severity of its surface erosion are often indicators of the traffic level it receives.
Desire paths typically emerge as convenient shortcuts where more deliberately constructed paths take a longer or more circuitous route, have gaps, or are non-existent. Once a path has been trodden out through the natural vegetation, subsequent traffic tends to follow that visibly existing route (as it is more convenient than carving out a new path by oneself), and the repeated trampling will further erode away both the remaining groundcover and the soil quality that allows easy revegetation. Eventually, a clearly visible and easily passable path emerges that humans and animals alike tend to prefer.
Desire paths may go on to become established roads, such as Broadway in New York City, which some urban planners believe to follow a trail developed by the Wecquaesgeek people, predating American colonization.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Tomes|first1=Hannah|title=The twists and turns of 'desire paths'|url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-twists-and-turns-of-desire-paths|work=The Spectator|date=July 9, 2022|access-date=February 10, 2023}}</ref>
==Parks and nature areas== [[File:Footpath along the River Mersey affected by "severe bank collapse" - geograph.org.uk - 3442033.jpg|thumb|Bankside fishermen trails along the River Mersey]] Desire paths sometimes cut through sensitive habitats and exclusion zones, threatening wildlife and park security. However, they also provide park management with an indicator of activity concentration. In Yosemite National Park, the National Park Service uses these indicators to help guide its management plan.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Lubell|first1=Mark|title=ESP172 Lecture 9: National Parks|url=http://www.des.ucdavis.edu/faculty/lubell/Teaching/ESP172/Lecture9Parks.pdf|publisher=University of California, Davis}}</ref>
Trampling studies have consistently documented that impacts on soil and vegetation occur rapidly with initial use of desire paths. As few as 15 passages over a site can be enough to create a distinct trail, the existence of which then attracts further use.<ref name=soft>{{cite book|last1=Hampton|first1=Bruce|last2=Cole|first2=David|title=Soft paths: how to enjoy the wilderness without harming it|date=1988|publisher=Stackpole Books|location=Harrisburg, PA|isbn=978-0-8117-2234-6}}</ref>{{rp|27}} This finding contributed to the creation of the Leave No Trace education program, which instructs travelers in nature areas to either stay on designated trails or, when off trail, distribute their travel lines so as to not inadvertently create new trails in unsustainable locations.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Marion|first1=Jeffrey L.|last2=Reid|first2=Scott E.|title=Development of the U.S. Leave No Trace Program: An Historical Perspective|url=https://lnt.org/sites/default/files/Leave_No_Trace_History_Paper.pdf|website=Leave No Trace: Center for Outdoor Ethics|date=January 2001}}</ref>
The increase of desire paths leads to habitat fragmentation, which increases exterior habitat and decreases interior habitat. This causes a respective increase and decrease in species, with more sensitive interior species being affect the most, ultimately lowering biodiversity.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Primack |first=Richard B. |last2=Terry |first2=Carina |date=2021-03-01 |title=New social trails made during the pandemic increase fragmentation of an urban protected area |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320721000458 |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=255 |article-number=108993 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2021.108993 |issn=0006-3207|pmc=9746928 }}</ref> Edges of the forest alongside the paths have higher temperatures and nutrient and pollutant amounts than the interior. These conditions kill fungi beneficial to the wildlife, with harmful pathogens replacing them.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tatsumi |first=Chikae |last2=Atherton |first2=Kathryn F. |last3=Garvey |first3=Sarah M. |last4=Conrad-Rooney |first4=Emma |last5=Morreale |first5=Luca L. |last6=Hutyra |first6=Lucy R. |last7=Templer |first7=Pamela H. |last8=Bhatnagar |first8=Jennifer M. |date=2023-09-05 |title=Urbanization and edge effects interact to drive mutualism breakdown and the rise of unstable pathogenic communities in forest soil |url=https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2307519120 |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=120 |issue=36 |article-number=e2307519120 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2307519120 |pmc=10483667 |pmid=37643216}}</ref> These edges also increase the opportunities for invasive species to be introduced to environments. This change is called the edge effect, and it is most prominent 50m from the edge of the forest.
Land managers have devised a variety of techniques to block the creation of desire paths, including fences, dense vegetation, and signage, though none are foolproof. Signage posted at the entrances to desire paths does not completely curb usage, with more people returning to the path over time. Between directly after the signage was posted and several months after, the usage increased four times.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Saxena |first=Neeraj |last2=Hossein Rashidi |first2=Taha |last3=Babana |first3=Joseph |last4=Cheung |first4=Clinton |date=2020-06-01 |title=Pedestrian Characteristics That Favor Desire Lines Despite Closure |url=https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/%28ASCE%29UP.1943-5444.0000577 |journal=Journal of Urban Planning and Development |language=EN |volume=146 |issue=2 |page=04020016 |doi=10.1061/(ASCE)UP.1943-5444.0000577 |issn=1943-5444|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Modern trail design attempts to avoid the need for barriers and restrictions, by aligning trail layout and user desire through physical design and persuasive outreach.{{r|soft|page1=16}}
COVID-19 increased the foot traffic to parks in Buffalo, New York, by 25% in 2020. These parks provided a safe place for recreation for people trapped indoors.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tirabassi |first=Jill N. |last2=Wang |first2=Jia |last3=Zhenqi Zhou |first3=Ryan |last4=Hu |first4=Yingjie |date=March 2024 |title=Human mobility data demonstrates increase in park visitation since start of COVID-19 pandemic in Buffalo, New York |journal=Preventive Medicine Reports |volume=39 |article-number=102650 |doi=10.1016/j.pmedr.2024.102650 |issn=2211-3355 |pmc=10876662 |pmid=38380386}}</ref> Due to the higher flow of people and the desire for separation, the number of desire paths increased. Webster Woods, a large protected area near Boston, experienced an increase in desire path length by 36% following COVID-19. This is a similar length to the amount created in the past 47 years.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Primack |first=Richard B. |last2=Terry |first2=Carina |date=2021-03-01 |title=New social trails made during the pandemic increase fragmentation of an urban protected area |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320721000458 |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=255 |article-number=108993 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2021.108993 |issn=0006-3207|pmc=9746928 }}</ref>
==In cities== In the Lower Eastside of Detroit, Michigan, the shortest path between 131 random destinations using desire paths compared to not, is on average {{convert|20.58|ft}} shorter. In 2010, the city housed over {{convert|150|miles}} of desire line.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Foster |first=Alec |last2=Newell |first2=Joshua P. |date=2019-09-01 |title=Detroit's lines of desire: Footpaths and vacant land in the Motor City |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169204619304906 |journal=Landscape and Urban Planning |volume=189 |pages=260–273 |doi=10.1016/j.landurbplan.2019.04.009 |issn=0169-2046|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
==Accommodation== Landscapers sometimes accommodate desire paths by paving them, thereby integrating them into the official path network rather than blocking them.<ref name="Kohlstedt">{{cite web |author=Kurt Kohlstedt |date=January 30, 2016 |title=Least Resistance: How Desire Paths Can Lead to Better Design |url=http://99percentinvisible.org/article/least-resistance-desire-paths-can-lead-better-design/ |access-date=February 3, 2016 |work=99% Invisible}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Bob Spieldenner |date=August 5, 2014 |title=Dirt paths on Drillfield to be paved |url=http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2014/08/080514-vpa-drillfieldpaths.html |access-date=February 3, 2016 |work=Virginia Tech News}}</ref> Sometimes, land planners have deliberately left land fully or partially unpathed, waiting to see what desire paths are created, and then paving those.<ref name="Kohlstedt" /> In Finland, planners are known to visit parks immediately after the first snowfall, when the existing paths are not visible.<ref name="earls">{{cite web |date=June 2011 |title=Earls Court Project Application 1: The 21st Century High Street |url=http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/idoxWAM/doc/Other-777167.pdf?extension=.pdf&id=777167&location=VOLUME2&contentType=application/pdf&pageCount=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929014834/http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/idoxWAM/doc/Other-777167.pdf?extension=.pdf&id=777167&location=VOLUME2&contentType=application/pdf&pageCount=1 |archive-date=2011-09-29 |website=Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Nichols |first=Laura |date=2014 |title=Social desire paths: a new theoretical concept to increase the usability of social science research in society |journal=Theory and Society |volume=43 |issue=6 |pages=647–665 |doi=10.1007/s11186-014-9234-3 |issn=0304-2421 |jstor=43694739 |s2cid=255012438 }}</ref> The naturally chosen desire paths, marked by footprints, can then be used to guide the routing of new purpose-built paths.{{r|earls}}<gallery widths="250px" heights="190px"> File:Olifantenpad Delft 2023.jpg|An accommodated desire path in Delft, Netherlands, having been reinforced with paving and incorporated into shrubbery|alt=a garden path with yellow gravel that runs diagonally to a sidewalk flanked by new shrubbery File:Desired path in a park.jpg|A desire path roped off for revegetation in Brisbane, Australia File:Cattle desire paths.jpg|Three desire paths left by cattle leading to a water trough in Wicklow, Ireland </gallery>
==Other uses of the concept== Images of desire paths have been employed as a metaphor for anarchism, intuitive design, individual creativity, and the wisdom of crowds.<ref name=myhill>{{citation|last1=Myhill|first1=Carl|editor1-last=Masodian|editor1-first=M|editor2-last=Jones|editor2-first=S|editor3-last=Rogers|editor3-first=B|title=6th Asia Pacific Computer-Human Interaction Conference (APCHI 2004)|date=2004|publisher=Springer-Verlag|location=Rotorua, New Zealand|chapter=Commercial Success by Looking for Desire Lines|chapter-url=http://www.litsl.com/personal/commercial_success_by_looking_for_desire_lines.pdf|access-date=2015-06-30|archive-date=2016-02-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220165616/http://www.litsl.com/personal/commercial_success_by_looking_for_desire_lines.pdf}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Lidwell |first1=William |title=Universal principles of design: 200 ways to enhance usability, influence perception, increase appeal, make better design decisions, and teach through design |last2=Holden |first2=Kritina |last3=Butler |first3=Jill |publisher=Rockport Publishers |year=2023 |isbn=978-0760375167 |edition=3rd |pages=48–49 |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Norman | first = Donald | author-link = Don Norman | title = Living with Complexity | publisher = The MIT Press | year = 2010 | isbn = 978-0-262-01486-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Throgmorton|first1=James|last2=Eckstein|first2=Barbara|title=Desire Lines: The Chicago Area Transportation Study and the Paradox of Self in Post-War America|url=http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/3cities/throgeck.htm|website=The 3Cities Project|access-date=26 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150706125811/http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/3cities/throgeck.htm|archive-date=6 July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.wgbh.org/cainan/article?item_id=2668597&parent_id=0 |title=WGBH: A Cape Cod Notebook – Desire Lines by Robert Finch |access-date=2006-06-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212232350/http://www.wgbh.org/cainan/article/?item_id=2668597&parent_id=0 |archive-date=2012-02-12 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Nichols|first1=Laura|title=Social desire paths: a new theoretical concept to increase the usability of social science research in society|journal=Theory & Society|date=2014|volume=43|issue=6|pages=647–665|doi=10.1007/s11186-014-9234-3|s2cid=144807700|url=https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/soc/14|url-access=subscription}}</ref> In various design disciplines, the concept is used to bridge the gap between intended use and actual user behavior.
=== Physical and digital traces === Beyond simple footpaths, desire lines refer to any traces of use or wear that indicate preferred methods of interaction. These physical indicators—such as worn-down keys on a keyboard, chew marks on a pen, or paint transfers on road guardrails—provide an unbiased record of how an object or environment is actually used.<ref name=":0" />
In digital environments where natural wear does not exist, designers use "artificial" desire lines to study behavior, such as:
* Website heat maps to track cursor movement and clicks. * GPS data to analyze traffic flow in urban areas. * Software "workarounds", where users adopt unofficial methods to overcome system limitations.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Malone |first1=Erin |last2=Crumlish |first2=Christian |title=Pave the Cowpaths |url=http://designingsocialinterfaces.com/patterns/Pave_the_Cowpaths |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216230617/http://designingsocialinterfaces.com/patterns/Pave_the_Cowpaths |archive-date=16 December 2019 |access-date=26 May 2015 |website=Designing Social Interfaces}}</ref>
=== Planning and "voting through behavior" === In transportation and urban planning, desire lines are used to analyze traffic patterns and plan road networks. Modern landscape architects increasingly adopt a pre-paving strategy: allowing paths to emerge naturally over several months before paving them as permanent walkways.<ref>{{cite book |author=FHWA |author-link=Federal Highway Administration |url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/processes/statewide/related/functional_classification/index.cfm |title=Functional Classification Guidelines |date=1989 |publisher=FHWA |location=Washington, D.C. |chapter=Concepts, Definitions, and System Characteristics |access-date=27 April 2025 |chapter-url=https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/processes/statewide/related/functional_classification/fc02.cfm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120530054242/https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/processes/statewide/related/functional_classification/fc02.cfm |archive-date=30 May 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>State of Illinois. (1959) [https://archive.org/stream/chicagoareatrans01chic#page/40/mode/2up "Chicago Area Transportation Study"] p. 40. State of Illinois, Springfield, IL. Retrieved 14 March 2012 from Paul V. Galvin Library, Illinois Institute of Technology.</ref>
Desire lines represent a form of "voting through behavior". They generally follow two patterns:
# '''Repeated use''': In familiar environments (e.g., a campus quad), paths correspond to the path of least resistance. # '''First-time use''': In novel environments (e.g., a tourist attraction), paths often correspond to the perceived quality of the experience or attraction.
=== Design response === {{unsourced-section|date=February 2026}} When desire lines deviate from the intended design, it is often interpreted as user delinquency, leading to the installation of barriers or "Keep Off" signs. However, design theory suggests these paths should be treated as valuable feedback. Rather than attempting to modify user behavior to fit the design, the design should be modified to accommodate the user's natural preferences.<ref name=":0" />
== See also == <!-- Please respect alphabetical order --> * Natural lines of drift * Path of least resistance * Sneckdown * Wayfinding
== Notes == {{notelist}}
== References == {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} {{Wiktionary|desire path|desire line}}
* [http://www.wordspy.com/words/desireline.asp Wordspy: Desire Line] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140719112810/http://www.wordspy.com/words/desireline.asp |date=2014-07-19 }} * [https://www.ted.com/talks/tom_hulme_what_can_we_learn_from_shortcuts Tom Hulme's TED Talk on using desire paths for better design and user experience]
{{Walking}} {{Authority control}}
Category:Cycling infrastructure Category:Footpaths Category:Garden features Category:Landscape architecture Category:Parks Category:Pedestrian infrastructure Category:Psychogeography Category:Trails Category:Transportation planning Category:Types of thoroughfares Category:Urban design