Nothing can be designed for everyone. So when it comes to “the great outdoors” which “public” was it made for? Footpath for the People? A Zine Companion to a Data Quilt about the Appalachian Trail by Claudia Berger is a zine companion to an analog data quilt, “Footpath for the People?”, also by Claudia Berger—as part of their Virtual Artist-in-Residency with Scholars’ Lab 2024-2025.
This quilt is an exploration of the Appalachian Trail and who the American outdoors was made for. American national parks were founded on the idea that nature can only exist without people, and that to preserve it all people who were living in it (Indigenous, Black, and immigrant communities) had to be displaced. Since the parks were founded with these beliefs, it is likely still ingrained into its design and who feels comfortable in them. Through the pages of this zine, and the blocks of the quilt, we will look at the history and present of the Appalachian Trail (AT) and the people who travel it.