Desire paths

Tread lightly as you wander.

Whatever decisions urban designers or landscape architects make about ways to move through the world, we collectively love to discover a shortcut. Impressions of footprints accumulate as consensus creates a new way.

This desire path near the river in Preston seems to have been officially sanctioned, creating a marginally shorter route over the grass compared to a wider circuit around the edge.

All living things make an impression on the world, but the human footprint is vast. It’s good to find your own way, but tread lightly on the earth.

Desire path across the grass