Cover image: Guy ‘Yug’ Blomberg, . Blomberg, Cover image: Guy ‘Yug’

white paper Pokémon Go, and the Future of Our Cities Augmented Reality (AR)

“The live direct or indirect view of our environment where elements are augmented, enhanced or supplemented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data.”

Tilly Caddy Emerge Associates

HE POKÉMON GO phenomenon hit cities in July, 2016. Within days players were crawling over parks, streetsT and monuments, stirring up turf and disrupting traffic. For the uninitiated, the Pokémon Go app is a free-to-play, location- based augmented reality game developed by for International hype: Players crowd Central Park in NYC. Allegra Frank @LegsFrank smartphones. Players roam the real world in The game uses GPS to create The PokéStops are based on encouraged to explore the local search of virtual monsters. The a map of PokéStops and gyms real world landmarks ranging area, even if it is just through their aim: to ‘catch ‘em all’ (so far, to visit, and its camera to show from murals, sculptures, clock smartphone screen. some 142 characters), level them monsters standing or flying in the towers, monuments, churches, Each PokéStop location has up, battle and control gyms for real world when the player is trying shopping malls, signs and even been imported from Niantic’s your team. to make a catch. Arqua fountains (p4). Players are previous reality game, Ingress,

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StreetChat asks an architect, landscape architect, academic, futurist and Overload: Peg Paterson Park in Rhodes. Wai Keen Woon, . millenial to describe AR’s

which allowed its players to augmented reality is beginning to current and potential impacts nominate places for new portals impact our cities, parks and public on our cities, through the in their local area. spaces. Pokémon Go players are We are seeing streetscape lens of Pokémon Go. currently not able to request more interventions to support our locations, so the distribution of connection to smartphones, such Stops is irregular. as in-ground traffic lights to help However, public and government pedestrians while surfing. How lobbying can eventually result in will the landscape follow? PokéStops being removed. A In Hyper-Reality, a video Sydney council saw three Stops simulation of augmented reality wiped from Peg Paterson Park taken to a critical level, Keiichi in Rhodes, a notorious site for Matsuda imagines green strips monster hunting and a nuisance in cities that morph and change for neighbours. with the needs of pedestrians and (For a fan’s description of the traffic. One moment, a park, the former Rhodes Poke-centre, see next, a bus lane. this Requiem.) Could landscape architects be The game is a fascinating case asked to design virtual sites, with study for the unexpected ways multiple variations? Arqua Fountain PokéStop. Tiffany Hoy.

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Associate Director at Conybeare Morrison

ALKING HOME through This is now possible as we Redfern Park I came routinely carry devices that allow Wacross a very unusual us to access the virtual world Virtual unreality: Pokémon in the park. Allegra Frank @LegsFrank scene. Dozens of people appeared wherever we are. No longer tied to be aimlessly walking around to a fixed place to access virtual the park in the twilight, focused content, such as at work or home, system that ties players not only timeless approach to the design on their smartphone screens. For we become the access point and to finding the Pokémon Go icons, of public space that preceded a second I was confused. Then I our world becomes the virtual but to sharing or trading them with the modern era, where form and remembered Pokémon Go. platform. nearby players. symbol take precedence over What do we make of this activity? The ‘point and shoot’ aspect This could happen simultaneously functional identity, may reassert What does it portend for the future of smartphones is seductive around a city, a country, or the itself. of our cities? as a portal. It is only a matter of globe, with all players aware of The narrative of place will then It wasn’t that long ago that time before we can point our each other. become the defining identity and computer generated imagery was smartphones at anything and get Public interaction can now drive the physical expression. a poor cousin of photography an information reading. take place in response to virtual As a new and inevitable part of and film. Now it exceeds their Is this a good thing? activities and larger audiences the public life of these places, capability in detail, action and Pokémon Go suggests that a can participate in events without virtual activity can come full circle, graphic manipulation as it paints a layering of the virtual onto the real needing to be in the event space rewarding those who reach out virtual world within our computers, world can be a way of bringing itself. in real time and place to others in and by extension, our minds. people into a common place or This suggests, perhaps, that the collaboration. Inevitably as the virtual world has a common activity. This can be a design of public space will need As John Naisbitt noted, way gotten more real, the real word is good thing. to respond to this expanded, yet back in 1982, in ‘Megatrends’ becoming more virtual. We see the One can imagine that with a small somewhat less defined social role. – high tech will lead to high blurring of boundaries suggested tweak to the gaming program As a ‘form follows function’ touch. Julie Andrews and Arnold by films such as ‘Mary Poppins’ another layer of interactive approach to defining public Schwarzenegger would probably and ‘Total Recall.’ capability can be built into the space becomes less relevant, the agree.

5 Street Furniture Australia 1300 027 799 streetfurniture.com Street Furniture Australia 1300 027 799 streetfurniture.com 6 “There is tremendous potential to significantly Anthony Brookfield reframe how we use, appreciate and Landscape Architect experience the public realm.” Principal at HASSELL information which will enlighten our the unsavoury ‘luring’ of players to experiences and bring us together dangerous situations. BSERVING the emergence as people in the public realm. It is a strange sight to see droves of AR technologies Pokémon Go has obviously made of people walk (sometimes in the Ofrom my position as a quite a splash around the world road) with their heads down and of landscape architect, it seems and has provided a lot of fun for course it leads one to lament what there is tremendous potential to those who love innovative ways of they might be missing. significantly reframe how we use, gaming. As far as how this stuff will impact appreciate and experience the Anything that gets people out of our cities I can see the good public realm. their homes to enjoy the outdoors outweighing the bad. The ability to observe at a glance is a good thing and there does I think the reframing of cities embedded information such seem to be a movement where as places where people come as hotel room availability, office people combine fitness with together to enjoy each other’s vacancies, train timetables and playing the game. company, as opposed to the many even restaurant table availability I used to be a runner and it did get lifeless centres which emerged in will be very popular. a little boring at times so I’m sure the latter half of the 20th century, Even more elevating is being if I was still training I’d be chasing has been a delight to see. able to learn of the rich and Active: Swan River in Perth. Ryan Northover. little virtual characters around the Places are much more thought layered histories within our great city. out and managed now and as long museums and which hide behind together with major technology I think everyone is aware of as these new technologies do not our city buildings, streets and open providers to give people an the concerns the game has get in the way of truly meaningful spaces. experience they will find invaluable. caused from people not being interaction and we respect each The activation and tourism I am keen to see this technology conscious of their surroundings, other’s boundaries I can see potential for this technology does evolve in a balanced fashion, the disrespecting of places of augmented realities significantly seem to be immense and it will whereby people trying to sell us worship or remembrance, to the enriching the experience of living, require place managers to come stuff is balanced with providing even more sinister issues around working and playing in our cities.

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Head of Discipline, Landscape Architecture, PokéStops and gyms can attract Queensland University customers for local businesses, of Technology create surveillance of deserted urban spaces, generate interest in local historical sites, bring players AKING COMPUTING power to places of worship, museums, to the street has become art galleries and sports events. Tcommon-place but Pokémon Of course, there are always the Go now offers citizens the ability to risks of large groups of people not only create their own decision becoming a nuisance for regular support tools within the city, but users of places, being distracted to engage in social ‘play’ in both as they cross roads, stopping or augmented reality and physical walking into others on a crowded reality at the same time. footpath, intruding on sacred For landscape architects, urban places, entering prohibited areas, designers, planners and architects, creating excessive litter and being this offers some interesting targeted by criminals. challenges in terms of place- Whether you love it or hate it, making for the new phenomenon Pokémon Go has introduced a of . new era of urban spaces that must The physical city will now need respond to the virtual world rather to accommodate social hubs for than the other way around. friends, families and individuals to It may have even spawned a new converge and be captivated by type of urban designer who thinks virtual on mobile devices. firstly of the digital space and Can our real world places secondly of the physical space. compete with such location-based What will that mean for our urban augmented reality games for the environments? A richer experience Public attention: Southbank, Queensland. Gillian Lawson. public’s attention? for all, we hope!

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Inventor, broadcaster MarkPesce.com

OKÉMON GO immediately Please PokéStop. Michelle Lynn, Twitter. highlighted the need for some Psort of zoning to control how real space can be repurposed by None of that was visible before AR applications. Pokémon Go, but is completely A restaurant may find it highly obvious after it. lucrative to have a PokéStop The need for enforceable property inside or on its doorstep, but a rights to cover the public uses of private residence would find it AR on a particular land may have greatly annoying to have troupes never been envisaged by our of visitors coming at all hours, existing property codes, but surely and in some situations, game are a logical extension of them. playing is absolutely inappropriate At that point, cities have created or dangerous, and should not another tangible asset providing

happen at all. rights to the intangible. Pokemon No. Eddie G!, YouTube.

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Landscape Architect, Emerge Associates

UGMENTED REALITY is the live direct or indirect view Aof our environment where elements are augmented, enhanced or “Our work could potentially double, triple, supplemented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, quadruple if there is the possibility to design both graphics or GPS data. Smartphone time portal. Co.Exist, Pivot. How does AR impact on our cities? the physical and virtual spaces.” Well it’s up to the individual. At the moment AR is an activity one The recent explosion of Pokémon Go I have fond memories of watching the users travel to iconic public spaces to participates in through choice, with hit the streets, public space and media animated series every weekday before ‘catch’ and add to their collection. or without it our cities and lives will hard. So hard that 1000sqm of turf at school without fail, trading Pokémon You will be pleased to read that during continue to chug along. Kings Park in Perth has been replaced cards at recess and lunch in my my weekend of Pokémon Go-ing, However those that are not aware of due to the increase in foot traffic. primary school undercroft (my prized apart from using all my data, I learnt its potential might be missing out on Unlike some, I don’t see the replacement possession; a holographic Raichu). a few things about Perth that I didn’t additional layers of information and of turf as a negative. If Pokémon Go So apart from the disapproval of a few previously know. limiting their experience of a place. is getting people off the couch to visit friends I found it an easy decision to Most notably when at a PokéStop Some 80% of Australians own a spaces they usually wouldn’t then download the app and play. close to my house, the app taught smartphone (Deloitte, 2015). That surely the positive benefits for our city A premise of the original Pokémon me the Nyoongar name of the site means the average Australian holds a outweigh the negatives. developed for Gameboy in 1995 is is Dweerlanup, the Place of the key to the window of this phenomenon As a twenty-something there is part ‘rare’ Pokémon are mainly found in Dingo Spirit. Which upon reflection is (as long as you haven’t blown your data of me that sparks nostalgia when national parks - a nice transition into highlighted in the public art at the site allowance). Pokémon is mentioned. the 2016 world of Pokémon Go where that features dingoes.

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“AR presents opportunities for landscape Big potential: AR goggles. Gigaom, Atheer. architects to evolve public spaces, add additional layers of meaning, engage in storytelling and Going forward AR presents many beginning point, getting people used encourage space activation.” opportunities (some already in place) to Augmented Reality is an important for landscape architects to evolve our learning shift.’ public spaces, add additional layers Felix uses AR as a sustainable platform, At the end of the day our work could transported to different countries, of meaning, engage in storytelling and blurring the lines between hardware and potentially double, triple, quadruple if fulfilling bucket list dreams without the encourage space activation. software. If a building footprint can be there is the possibility to design both limitation of physical fitness or ability, This can take the form of art decreased with supplemented virtual the physical and virtual spaces. assistance, money and time. exhibitions, virtual tours of historic and spaces, this creates a positive paradigm The experience of AR has provided a For several minutes one could be past landscapes and buildings or as a shift for development industries and in new avenue when referencing spaces immersed in the Great Migration tool to enable clients to visualise future the long term will result in a decrease in that are Universally Accessible or All through Africa, or travel via gondola projects (some of which companies urban sprawl and landfill. Abilities. down the canals of Venice all while such as Felix, a multidisciplinary At this stage it might be unpredictable From a health perspective AR could being hooked up to a dialysis machine. practice in Perth, have been undertaking what form AR will take in the future revolutionise mental health and aged Surely this would aid holistic care via for years). so for now it may be worth designing care. brain and mood stimulation. When asked his thoughts on spaces that discourage the trampling of Imagine putting on AR goggles and Pokémon Go has been a catalyst Pokémon Go’s influence on AR, Felix garden beds or creating outdoor gallery spending the day exploring spaces into the world of AR possibilities, with director Rene Van Meeuwen couldn’t spaces that are empty rooms awaiting outside of the walls of a care facility. potential to revolutionise how humans be more positive. He says, ‘It’s a good commissioned VR artists to populate. Patients and residents could be engage with the space around them.

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