A method for manually or semi-manually mapping an urban environment to locate a safe, traversable path within the environment is provided herein. An area is mapped by an entity that traverses sidewalks, ramps, driveways, crosswalks, and other terrain in the area to create a memory of usable paths to reach addressed destinations. A human operator, possibly assisted by a computer-executed mathematical algorithm, approves routes that are considered safe. When a route is approved, it enters the memory as a safe, traversable route. If a route is not approved, it is marked as unsafe and the entity finds an alternate route to get to the same location such as by going around the block or in another direction.