7 years ago
2
Is Pokémon Go racist? How the app may be redlining communities of color
PokéStops in communities of color suggest unconscious digital redlining within the game.
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http://www.usatoday.com
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I don't think this is an issue of redlining or race. I think this is a customer support issue on Niantic's part. They used a map built by the Ingress community for a different game played by a different community. The problem isn't that blacks don't have any pokestops, the problem is that people in areas without pokestops are unable to request them. Niantic hasn't given Pokémon Go players the ability to submit areas for new pokestops the way they have given Ingress players the ability to submit new portals.
Its bad customer service, not racism.
It's definitely not racism. USA Ingress players have not been able to submit new portal locations for over a year, for one.
The general formula for Ingress portals was: Churches, landmarks, parks. If you happen to live an an area without those nearby, you won't be near any portals/pokestops. More affluent areas might have statues, murals, and churches right in the residential areas. Lower income areas probably have less of those in the residential areas.
If anything, this article is racist for drawing the conclusion that the reason residential areas have fewer landmarks is because of race. I really wish that journalists would do a tiny bit of research before spewing this crap.