Desire path

A desire path (also known as desire line in transportation planning and by many other names) 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 through a natural area or greenspace, and the width and severity of its surface erosion are often indicators of the quantity of traffic it receives.

Desire paths typically emerge as convenient shortcuts where more deliberately constructed roads and footpaths take a longer or more circuitous route, have gaps, or are non-existent. Once an improvised 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 traversable path emerges that humans and animals alike tend to prefer.

Desire paths may go on to become formal trails and even established thoroughfares, such as Broadway in New York City, which some urban planners believe to follow a convenient trail developed by the Wecquaesgeek people, predating American colonization.