How To Build A University
I’ll say this. I hate the new University Hall in NUS. I think it was a waste of money. Ok. Now that is out of the way, let’s talk about one aspect of building a university campus - the sidewalks. How do you plan the sidewalks? Apparently, you don’t.
Apparently, this is how the Campus of Michigan State University got their sidewalks:
The original campus did not contain many sidewalks at all; the designers instead opted to pave desire lines after they appeared in the grass.
A desire line is a path developed by erosion caused by animal or human footfall. The path usually represents the shortest or most easily navigated route between an origin and destination. The width and amount of erosion of the line represents the amount of demand. Desire lines were used in early transportation planning, prior to the advent of computerized models.
Check out the photos of desire lines on Flickr.
