Cover image: Guy ‘Yug’ Blomberg, Twitter. Blomberg, Cover image: Guy ‘Yug’ white paper Pokémon Go, Augmented Reality 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 Niantic 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, 1 Street Furniture Australia 1300 027 799 streetfurniture.com Street Furniture Australia 1300 027 799 streetfurniture.com 2 Hyper-Reality: Park becomes bus lane. Keichi Matsuda. StreetChat asks an architect, landscape architect, academic, futurist and Overload: Peg Paterson Park in Rhodes. Wai Keen Woon, Facebook. 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. 3 Street Furniture Australia 1300 027 799 streetfurniture.com Street Furniture Australia 1300 027 799 streetfurniture.com 4 Dick Nugent Architect 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. 7 Street Furniture Australia 1300 027 799 streetfurniture.com Street Furniture Australia 1300 027 799 streetfurniture.com 8 Dr Gillian Lawson Academic 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.