Optimized way for creating Pathways/Walkways?

Hey everyone,

I’ve been struggling with creating pathways since the start of my career in building/modeling. It might seem like a simple task to most, but my biggest concern has always been optimizing road and path creation.

Like many of you that begun their building journey, I’ve used unions quite a bit when building paths, while I know others prefer using modular pieces for more flexibility.

So, my main question is: What method do games typically use to create roads/paths in a way that’s well-optimized?
And for a fun, optional follow-up: What’s your preferred way of creating road structures, and why?

Thanks for taking the time to read this!