DEIA COMMITMENT

The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy (PPC) strives to create an organizational culture of inclusion and acceptance that reflects our core values and the voices of our diverse team. We understand that this is a continuous learning process and one that is never perfected. Through our work in the broader Pittsburgh community, we also endeavor to cultivate specific DEIA initiatives, promote the importance of diversity in nature and access to the outdoors, and work to ensure all individuals feel welcome in Pittsburgh’s parks. 

DEIA Achievements

  • In 2019, the PPC conducted an analysis of 170 parks within the city of Pittsburgh, listened to feedback from over 10,000 Pittsburgh residents in 82 different communities, and collected data on the communities surrounding these parks. The result of this effort was the Equitable Investment Strategy (EIS), which ranks the parks in terms of their need for investment (i.e., current conditions) and in terms of the community need (i.e. racially concentrated areas of poverty, family poverty, youth population, senior population, vacancy rate, violent crime, etc.). 
  • Since the release of the EIS, the PPC has made significant strides toward investment in the parks that rank near the top of the EIS.  
  • In 2019, the PPC completed the restoration of the Patricia Rooney Memorial Fountain in Allegheny Commons Park, which ranks #4 on the EIS and is surrounded by Environmental Justice-designated communities.  
  • In 2020, the organization invested in a green infrastructure and entrance improvement project at McKinley Park, which ranks #2 on the EIS. Since then, the PPC has activated this park in Pittsburgh’s Hilltop with wellness-focused and environmental education programs and has secured funding to invest in the improvements of trails.  
  • In 2023, the PPC began a meaningful and inclusive engagement process to solicit public input on the future of Homewood’s Baxter Park, which ranks #1 on the EIS. An overarching goal of this park planning process is to prioritize the voice of teenagers and children in this community.  
  • In 2023, the PPC engaged individuals with disabilities, caregivers, accessibility advocates, and children with exceptionalities in the design of a one-of-a-kind and fully accessible space within Frick Park. The design process was centered around universal design principles, which consider the needs of individuals with disabilities and ensured that all individuals, regardless of their needs, could participate through the use of screen readers and other tools. This public engagement process resulted in the design of the Outdoor Sensory Classroom and Nature Play Trail, which, once constructed in 2024, will become the first such space geared toward children with physical and intellectual disabilities in a public park in Pittsburgh.  
  • In 2025, the PPC unveiled its new five-year strategic plan and embedded the importance of inclusion throughout.