Wish there were more PokeStops and Gyms in your area? Here's how to request a PokeStop

I don't know how it is in similarly populated US cities but one problem I'm having is the lack of PokeStops and Pokemon Gyms where I'm currently living, there are a few PokeStops concentrated in/near a local park and then none for miles in the residential areas, so it's a bit impractical as it isn't all that healthy to drive to the park to walk around for a while.

Why are there no PokeStops near me?
You may not know but the creators of Pokemon Go, Niantic Labs made an incredibly popular game Ingress which was another augmented-reality game where you fought for portals around the world, which were mostly well-known local or national landmarks. The game had two factions that had to fight for control over these portals (sound familiar?), and uses a Google Maps-based interface. Pokemon Go's PokeStops and Pokemon Gyms were sourced from the Portal locations and so some areas without Ingress players will be underrepresented in terms of PokeStops compared to how many people are interested in playing.


What can you do about it?
Never fear though! Niantic has now rolled out a system where you can request PokeStops and Pokemon Gyms in your local area by going to their support page and filling out the ticket for a local landmark or business to be added to the map. When filling out the ticket you will need the address/coordinates of the location you're requesting, you can find this by going to Google Maps and then right clicking at the location, and selecting "Whats Here?", this will bring up the address and latitude/longitude. Good luck getting some more local PokeStops!

General Pokemon Go Tips and Tricks
Public Transport Pokestops- If you're travelling on a bus or train and you can see Pokestops coming up, press the pokestop and start spinning before you get there so that hopefully once you're close enough to it you will activate the loot drop before you're out of range again.

Press and hold while aiming- When the coloured circle to indicate difficulty level is at its smallest is when you have the best chance to capture the pokemon, you can also circle your finger around the ball before throwing which puts spin on it and give you bonus XP. Turn off AR for an easier time aiming if you'd like.

Use incense and a lucky egg at the same time for more XP during the half hour you are more attractive to pokemon.

The nearby tracker- I didn't really understand this for the first few hours I'm embarrassed to say, clicking the bar at the bottom right will bring up nearby pokemon and the amount of footprints shows how far away they are, if you move in the right direction the number of footprints will drop.

If you can, go out hunting at different times of day- Some different pokemon inhabit different areas such as riverside/countryside, and nocturnal species will generally be easier to find in the evening.

Don't get lost- It may sound stupid but if you run out of battery after having wandered for a few hours do you know how to get home? What if you've got into a bad area? Play it safe, and find some fellow trainers to walk with it makes it more fun!