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Charlotte was the first event in the collaboration by Knight and Niantic, on May 7th of 2017.
The game was embedded within Open Streets 704, an open streets initiative of the city (see also open streets events in Philadelphia and San Jose).
The goals were to cultivate a healthier and more connected community through shared experiences of walking and bicycling. More than 24,000 people attended the overall event, with a visible showing from Pokémon GO players. Many players traveled further than typical event attendees, such as one who drove 1.5 hours from Winston-Salem.
Of the 24,000 individuals that participated in the event, Niantic estimates that 3,000 – 5,000 were playing Pokémon GO, exploring the city in search of PokéStops and gyms alongside neighbors whom they may not have otherwise met. Roughly 24,000 people came for the overall event (nearly 3% of the city residents).
Deep context: our report
>> Charlotte is one of three open-streets experiments with Pokémon GO. For a deep description of how such events work, read our detailed report on similar events in San Jose and Philadelphia. Analysis includes:
- Economic impact
- Balancing tourists versus residents
- Social mixing and network formation
Selected Charlotte images
More on the Charlotte remix
- Additional observations and pictures from our visit
- Vision for the Knight + Niantic collaboration, announced just before Charlotte
- Knight VP Sam Gill on “A Playful New Layer of Civic Engagement: Why Knight Teamed with Niantic to Bring Pokémon GO to Community Events” (May 4, 2017)
- Niantic and Knight joint announcement “Niantic forming a multi-year partnership with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation” on the Niantic blog (May 4, 2017)
- Curbed coverage “Pokémon Go creator partners with Knight Foundation to promote civic engagement” by Barbara Eldredge (May 5, 2017)
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