the.com/desire lines
the shortcut that proves your city planner was wrong and your legs were right.
means an unofficial path worn into grass or dirt by repeated foot traffic choosing the shortest or easiest route, ignoring the paved one.
from coined from the french term ligne de desir, picked up by urban planners and landscape architects in the 20th century to describe how people vote with their feet against designed infrastructure.
planner's tricksome campuses wait a year, pave the worn trails
also calledcow paths, social trails, elephant paths
digital versionux designers use the term for click patterns
for instance
high line nyc — informal foot traffic patterns studied before park redesign
finsbury park london — muddy diagonal cut visible on satellite maps every winter