Gotta love the “historic communities” that don’t show on google maps yet 
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Ya, I agree. I doubt it’s the same in every country, Definitely a thing in smaller towns here and even in around the cities. The cities it could actually be more prevalent as, in some of the older parts of the city a lot of the estates back onto each other with walkways and such, so one day you might spend the day in Johnny’s estate with his friends and have a kickabout, bit of banter etc, the next you could be in Jimmy’s etc. most of the time it is generally the same areas that youngsters hang out.
Def hasn’t changed much here over the years apart from now someone does keep an eye out, back when I was younger, if you were missin the 1st thing a parent would say is “they’ll be back when they are hungry enough”. Good times. 
Asking this question again.
No Niantic has not said anything specific about neighborhood signs.
I’m including the link to what they have said about Criteria Clarifications 
I’d recommend at looking at the notes for Artistic Signs. (I don’t remember the title of that one specifically).
But in cases like this I always go back to basics. If I am trying to nominate something I want to write a good description and support that include reasons why this is already a Great place to be social with others, explore, and/or exercise. If I am reviewing, I look for more than it exists and people walk by it.
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I know this thread has been around for a while, and I realize I’m late to the conversation, but I’m genuinely trying to understand the perspective behind rejecting neighborhood signs — and hoping to offer a different view based on lived experience.
When I was an avid runner (before undergoing three back surgeries), neighborhood signs were crucial waypoints for my routes. In suburban sprawl, where roads can feel repetitive and landmarks are sparse, these signs served as navigational anchors. They helped me track how far I’d gone, judge progress on loops, and find new paths. They were unique — a clear indicator that I’d entered or exited a specific area, unlike street signs which repeat frequently and can’t always be used to distinguish location intuitively.
I recently pulled up my Strava heatmap — I’ve attached a screenshot below — and you can clearly see the dense web of use in these neighborhoods. The darker lines represent heavier use by runners and cyclists, showing that these are active community spaces, not just residential zones. It makes me wonder: if we acknowledge parks or trail markers because they encourage physical activity, why not neighborhood signs that serve the same purpose in areas where trails don’t exist?
Some argue these signs are too “generic,” but I’d ask — why are churches accepted, then? I’m not religious, and I often feel awkward approaching churches while playing Pokémon GO. Yet they’re often approved without question. If the value is in “community significance,” I’d argue a sign that defines an entire neighborhood carries real communal meaning — especially when that neighborhood is a shared space for exercise, socializing, and navigation.
So while I completely respect the guidelines and know that not every sign is a slam-dunk nomination, I do think we should reconsider the blanket rejection of all neighborhood signs. In suburban environments, they often are the landmark.
Thanks for reading — and for the thoughtful discussions here. I’m sincerely just trying to bridge understanding and reflect on how these signs are used beyond just a visual object.
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The three main eligibility criteria are a great place to socialise, a great place to exercise, or a great place to explore. Nominations need to be at least one of those things to be eligible, and they also need to meet none of the rejection criteria.
For a standard neighbourhood sign, it isn’t a place that’s specifically designed to be a great place to socialise - sure, you might coincidentally meet your neighbour there and have a chat with them, but that’s not the purpose of the sign. Likewise, you might run past it on your morning jog, but it isn’t specifically designed for exercising itself.
As for exploration, unless it’s a particularly artistic sign, you’re not really going to go out of your way to show people from out of town your neighborhood sign. From what I gather, nearly all residential areas in the US have these, and they’re somewhat similar to the multitude of “Welcome to {insert village/town/city name}” roadsigns that we have in the UK, which are also generally ineligible due to not meeting criteria.
So that’s generally why they’re not seen as eligible. They’re just generic signage that serves a purpose, but not a purpose that coincides with the wayfarer criteria.
Whilst I’m not religious myself, churches are a place where people gather socially, and religious worship is often also considered a form of exploration of the mind, similar to how libraries are. Additionally, whilst this might not apply so much in the US, in the UK our churches are often great from an architectural standpoint. Again, I’m not religious, but I can appreciate the architecture of a church or cathedral.
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What are sidewalks designed for? I feel they serve the same purpose as trails.
Sidewalks are not the same as trails. Please don’t think about nominating sidewalks.
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I refere to my earlier comments. You name anything tangable and you could tie 1 of the main 3 criteria to it.
Public Bin: I place single use water bottles in here whilst exercising.
Dog Poo Bin: I socialise with other dog owners whilst disposing.
Tree: This is the marker I use to turn back home when exercising.
Car Dealers: This is where I explore what new models have been released.
Yes, I am being pedantic with the above examples but I hope it makes a point.
Personally, I do see these as something that could possibly be acceptable in the future. There are not that much different from the Village Signs that are often accepted in the UK. The main difference is it seems that every estate in the US has these, the UK not every Village / Town / City has them and each place that does might have 1 or 2.
New Build estates may have something similar but usually more temporary and don’t often last once the sales office / Show Home has been converted back to a home.
I’m planning to take some photos this week of a few nearby signs to help illustrate my perspective. The ones in my area are much more substantial than simple sales signage and far more distinct and visually appealing than the example photo that was shared.
To be clear, I’m not suggesting that every neighborhood sign should automatically be accepted. I simply believe each one deserves to be evaluated on its own merit rather than being dismissed categorically.
This isn’t about any specific nomination—I’m just offering a broader perspective. It seems that over time, a few early opinions were shared with confidence and gradually repeated until they began to feel like definitive rules. That may not reflect the full intent of the guidelines, especially when signs like these often reflect real community identity and serve as meaningful local markers.
I’ve been trying to engage in good faith, with the hope that alternative viewpoints could be part of the conversation. That said, I’ve noticed that some of my contributions have been met with overly simplified rebuttals or, at times, with a tone that feels unnecessarily dismissive. I’m not looking to stir conflict—just to encourage thoughtful dialogue. If there’s a better way to contribute constructively within this space, I’m open to feedback.
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I am unable to give a full viewpoint on whether I agree with them as they are not something that we have in the UK.
I was trying to help stating that something physically similar was often accepted in the UK and that I can only speculate that it is the regularity that is stopping them being eligible in the US.
Breif History: Whiston was a small Village surrounded by Fields. Mentioned in the Doomsday Book (1086) From the 1950s more estates where added where there is now 6. The Local Town expended until it merged with the Village.
Just looked round google maps and Whiston has 2 of these signs for the whole area.
Whiston still has a Village vibe, village shops, village pubs etc and these historic villages are the ones most likely to have these type of border markers. They mark the entire Village, not just 1 estate.
A lot of villages and larger settlements will just have the standard metal sign with “Welcome to AnotherTown” which occasionally get through voted but most are rejected.
If every estate in every village had one then I would expect they would be more difficult to get accepted.
Good luck with your endevours but don’t let it get to you if it doesn’t go the way you hope. Step away, Try something else and maybe return at a later date.
Addition: Don’t forget Whiston has an Historic Barn, We should get a couple of stops just for that 
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Hello again,
Sorry I am late to your interesting posts around Estate Signs.
I do look forward to being able to help with your specific one that was denied and your situation in general albeit from across the pond in the U.K. 
The one advantage of a late arrival is that I can see how things have developed.
As noted this is an old topic and it is not the only discussion around this subject. Your frustration around US town planning that can result in large areas with little other than houses is one I have come to learn about.
I find that it is more helpful to focus on the basics around the object under discussion than to make comparisons with other different things.
To clarify a few things that appear to be misunderstandings.
There are no “ house rules”.
There is no rule that says estate signs are flatly ineligible.
As others have shown it is perfectly possible to have one of these signs approved IF it meets the criteria.
I understand that it can feel as though wayfarer is not being consistent. Yes there is variability because any nomination will pass through many wayfinders who each will be asked to assess it. So its perfectly possible to have slightly different interpretations. There is no such thing as a set review of an individual nomination. Reviewers use their judgement.
As an educator you may enjoy assessing nominations, and I find you learn a lot about improving your own by doing so.
Any nomination needs to demonstrate it is eligible and then that it is acceptable.
If your area has got visually interesting Estate signs the you stand a chance of it having good artistic merit.
But if not …..
Some of the points you make are falling into the area of trying to make the question fit the answer you want to get. 
For example the fact that pavements are in good condition doesn’t turn them into an official walking route. But perhaps you could talk to your local community organisation - HOA?- about having some official route over set distances that help people exercise and some appropriate signage - this can help the wider community
You mentioned the possibility of a little free library in one post. These are great community assets. Since the area with the Estate Sign is presumably public land it would be a great location for a LFL. Or perhaps a bug hotel with an education sign about pollinators etc would be super. This could involve children and the community in the design and construction. These ideas would improve the whole area for the community.
If the signs are unlikely to be accepted be an active citizen, think about the community and work with them, and the local official body. It might be them you need to convince rather than Wayfarer
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Jumping in to translate from UK to US … pavement = sidewalk
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Hi,
I know I am late to this as well. However I was searching this specifically. I used to walk 4 miles a day around the residential area I live. Many neighborhoods. I used all those neighborhood signs as distance markers. I would run into neighbors and get great exercise.
Now I play Pokémon go and I spend more time driving instead of walking because to spin stops to have gifts to give friends, I can’t just walk to them from my home. Unless I drive really far, the stops near are all extremely spaced out. To me this game has encouraged me to walk less and waste gas.
But I love the game so I keep leaving my home and driving through all the churches closest to my home.
Even on raid weekends when I meet with people from Campfire. We all just drive separately from raid to raid, it is not safe to walk from one to the next.
I don’t understand why walking the neighborhood wouldn’t be encouraged by allowing stops, if signs are not on private property.
Before I played, I used to have to take my kids to a graveyard to get stops years ago when I lived in elsewhere for the same reasons. Would have been nice just to walk around my local community instead. Get to know the neighbors and let me kids ride their bikes with friends to get stops.
Anyway, obviously my point is that permanent neighborhood signs should be approved more often. They do encourage walking as mile markers etc. and encourage walking from your home instead of driving.
It really feels like more dense, wealthier areas of town are the only places that get tons of pokestops including the neighborhood signs approved.
I have recently started reviewing myself. It’s very hard to not allow rural areas to have one stop without having to drive far to get just because it is what some people consider a boring sign with no significant use. Every place is different and what would be a significant stop or used differently by the locals is not always in line with others personal experiences. That doesn’t make it a bad choice as a stop.
If encouraging exercise and social experiences is important, then having to drive all over town everyday shouldn’t be the goal.
But it’s mine everyday and I am lucky enough to have a car and gas to do it for the time being.
I just ask to look further into evaluating than just the look of the sign being reviewed. It may meet enough criteria in that specific area.
Sorry I rambled so.
Thank you for reading this long post.
Good day and welcome!
It is nice to see that the game has encouraged you to go out and it is frustrating to hear that some areas are still devoid of game objects. The occurrence of game objects does drive a player to interact with a particular object even when it seems incredulous outside of that. However, through Wayfarer, we can only mirror the gameboard based on the real world. The notion is to drive an object’s particular merits towards socialization, exercise, and exploration home so it can become a game object or a wayspot.
It is important to encourage socialization, exercise, and exploration; what comes first is making the real world to realize that. This comes in the form of amenities that are tied to the three core leisure aspects. The presence of these objects/place determines the playability of the gameboard of specific areas.
I would like to ask how specific examples are used in real life, exclusive of Pokémon GO or any AR game. This has to be discussed through the submission and that is where the eligibility criteria is assessed. The differences in usage, function, and novelty of a particular object may be different from another; which is why it is important to highlight these differences within the submission.
It is not discouraged to walk through the neighborhood. The problem is the lack of objects that would encourage people to walk through the neighborhood (outside of AR games) and would be eligible. When people ask “go play outside”, there may be cases where we think “but where? there’s literally nowhere and nothing to do out here.” That’s still the issue with such places.
As for its usage as trails and running markers, I recommend reading through Trails & Markers where it is highlighted that the presence of an official route is the key to the acceptance of trail markers.
I think it is good that we yearn for things related to exercise, exploration, and socialization (even when there is a perverse incentive for us). Now, we can go back and forth, stretch this Wayfarer criterion. Or use this motivation to make changes out there.
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Thank you. I am just learning and I thought I was reviewing decently but my rating dropped to fair. So got on here to try to figure out what I am doing wrong. Of course I rarely get stops from my area so it does take a lot more research on many submissions, but I am doing my best and what I thought was good. It’s very discouraging and upsetting knowing I am spending so much of my time just to feel badly when I get on. I keep reading how to review but much of it is exactly what I thought I was doing.
Hopefully my reviews will eventually make a difference and I’ll feel more appreciated for all the time I give for free.
I really appreciated your quick feedback. It helps.
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The feedback to the feedback is also appreciated!
Review Support is here to show specific iffy review(s) and get feedback from the community. While the response may not be timely enough before the review time runs out, it can enable you to spot those details for future reviews.
The Wayfarer Discussion Discord has also been helpful with this and Nomination Support. I have started from there and learned (rather abrasively). Hopefully you are more open to suggestions and new perspectives than I was.
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you? hard to imagine. must have been before i got there!
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We have all been through the ups and downs of reviewing at some point. I remember that sense of frustration well.
First it is great that you are reviewing we need people to review but also I learned so much about how others must view my submissions be seeing areas I didnt know and what was being written. It sounds as though you are in the USA so you will get submissions from all over.
The key recommendation is to take your time. Your review is just one of many of an individual nomination. You wont start to get agreements until the ones you have reviewed reach resolution. This could take time for them to trickle through. So it may be better to work through a few slowly when you have some time, checking everything carefully. If you are unsure you can skip and that wont affect your rating.
Take note of your numbers and understand what they mean.
The upgrade wheel clicks forward a notch when one that you reviewed is resolved and you are in agreement with the end result. So you want to see that steadily rising.
So take it slower and let it build up. Hopefully you will start to move back to good.
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Thank you!
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