Walk 2: desire lines

 Desire Lines

The Path of Least Resistance: Forging Your Own Way 

   The first Desire Line that I photographed is a path through the bushes    that line a walkway from a side patio to the pool. This path is fully       enclosed by giant rose bushes and blocks access to the backyard so       everyone cuts through to get to the fire pit and the dock. This trespass    ended up killing one of the rose bushes. Unfortunately, a new one has    been planted by my parents to deter our more convenient Desire Line.    It would have been better to simply add some stepping stones and accept people's natural desire to save time and energy to get where they want to be as easily and quickly as possible.

Nature does this. It is called the path of least resistance. Goldsworthy was inspired to replicate this idea in his massive stone wall commission. Of all the ideas he could have created, I thought his use of the stones meandering through the forest, down into the river and out the other side was so simple and yet so powerful in conveying how nature makes its way. His work honors nature's desire to create its own path. Goldsworthy beautifully reveals how, even with man's intervention, nature will take its course, ultimately changing itself and its environment in rhythm with the universe.

Urban planners are not artists, but are required to be pragmatic above all else. They do an excellent job creating walkways, sidewalks, and stone paths to accommodate pedestrians. Also, it seems from exploring my own environment, urban planners have also anticipated Desire Line foot traffic, accommodating  secondary routes by adding stepping stones to various natural cut-throughs where people would be inclined to make their own way. Exploring my own hometown, population 950, I had a difficult time finding any at all. 

Paths of Least Resistance:

Path to the shed  

Path to the driveway from front door 

Path to the store

On my exploration, I am discovering that Desire lines require a natural environment, some type of natural base in order to be recognized. For example, open parking lots have innumerable Desire lines due to people cutting through cars to get to their destination or back to their own car more quickly. However, without a natural landscape to reveal footprints or a worn path, it is nearly impossible to map this.

Desire Lines are everywhere because the path of least resistance adheres to nature's way of flowing with ease, downstream being the most effortless, graceful, and efficient movement forward. Do not fight the tide. Row, row, row, your boat gently down the stream.....