Making Pgh Parks and Trails More Inclusive

Pittsburgh has amazing outdoor resources, but they’re only great if you can get to them and have a fun, safe experience. Marcus Shoffner, president and CEO of the Outdoor Inclusion Coalition, wants to address it all — making sure every neighborhood has a beautiful park, ensuring new designs accommodate all abilities, addressing the infrastructure and transit needed to get us there, and working with users to address the unwelcome or hostile attitudes many Black and Brown folks still experience in these shared spaces. 

“In a perfect world, there's not a ‘me.’ I'm just another one of our colleagues walking down the street that cares a lot about recreation, but doesn't have to say I'm a Black man in this space.”

The Coalition got its first big win last year — Pittsburgh City Council approved its program to allow camping in city parks.

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