City Profile: San Jose (September 17, 2017)

<< back to our Report Overview on Pokémon GO and Playful Cities

Overview

In this particularly large mobilization, the city of San José’ wove the game into their annual Open Streets festival. Seven miles of streets were closed to cars during VivaCalleSJ— and open to biking, skating, walking and play.

This year, as Pokemon GO was featured, more than 30,000 players logged in for the day. Overall attendance was up approximately 30% from the year prior, which already had 100,000 attendees.

The event was structured around neighborhood hubs and highlighted specific events, culture and themes. The city, working closely with Niantic, curated more than 130 PokéStops and over 25 Gyms along the route. Many had lure modules. In addition, Niantic staff were at key event hubs with special posters and a raffle to tour the company headquarters.

Yet much of the impact required a closer look, from tourism, neighborhood branding, and the networks of the game. For this story and the detailed metrics, see our report.

Full Report

>> San Jose is one of the primary cities featured in our detailed report. Below we include. Analysis includes:

Economic indicators for San Jose, including as compared to local businesses that invested in the game
Narrative of how the experience felt to players, and how social mixing was possible in new ways
Comparison with the Philadelphia Open Streets case

A few images

Fan-created map of the San Jose event route, featuring Pokemon GO creatures, made by Reddit user /u/unknownstrife

A local business featured in the game, as part of content updated for the event

Parking lots unexpectedly filled with players near event hubs

Fan-organized meetup during the event, with custom map of one event hub

A player who received a Golden Raid Pass and poster, per their public Instagram account (@vinsonte)

At major “hubs” along the route, cultural programming and local vendors were available to participants (photo credit: research team)

More on the San Jose remix

Our official report leads with the San Jose case
- Bonus analysis and pictures (not in the report), by Aubrey Hill
Blog on “How One City Amplified a Community Event with Pokémon GO” by Ed Solis, San Jose Recreation Superintendent (Niantic Blog, 3/27/2018)
Survey analysis on the event from the Mineta Transportation Institute, based on 800+ respondents
- Excerpt: “This Pokémon GO factor likely explains why more people traveled from outside the City of San José to attend Viva CalleSJ in 2017 than did in the preceding two years.” Written by Asha Weinstein Agrawal and Hilary Nixon.
Viva CalleSJ official website, from the San Jose Department of Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services, including:
- FAQ for Pokémon GO at Viva CalleSJ (9/11/2017)
Reddit [Megathread] Pokémon GO at Viva Calle San Jose
Knight Foundation work in San Jose