Desire paths can tell us how to design safer, better public spaces.
From the ABC: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-23/desire-paths-offer-insight-into-use-of-public-spaces/102191044
"A desire line, or desire path, is an unplanned trail that forms as a result of traffic, either by humans or other animals, and often veers away from conventional paths.
"Mike Harris, an urban design researcher at the University of New South Wales, said … in many cases, desire lines showed those who planned or designed a space ‘fundamentally got it wrong’.
"‘It’s just simply that they weren’t cognisant of how people actually want to use that space,’ he said.
“Dr Harris said with people increasingly living in built-up environments, those designing urban spaces were examining desire lines, or desire paths, more frequently.”
#Urbanism #Walking #Cycling #Planning #UrbanPlanning #WalkableCities @fuck_cars @green
@ajsadauskas @fuck_cars @green
Clear desire line here in Royal Park. South bound bikes want to go from the West path to the East path without wasted time. This line has been used so much, the junction with the inner path is eroded & now dangerous & a second desire line is forming further North, at a terminus of the East path.
Park management should seal an appropriate bike route without 90 degree turns.@DavidPenington @ajsadauskas @fuck_cars @green Yep, especially the 90 degrees crossing in parks are a clear sign
