Very few places on earth host the level of diversity, entertainment, and social interactions that Vancouver, British Columbia’s Robson Square has to offer. Where else can one see a famous Korean rapper with his star-studded entourage, a dreadlocked woman riding a green unicycle, and a hoard of Japanese schoolgirls in a span of less than ten minutes? Located in the heart of downtown, this vibrant plaza is almost always bustling with a multitude of shoppers, tourists, entertainers, businesspeople, and partygoers. It’s a place where people come to mingle with their friends and spend time outdoors. As a bystander in this whole scene of a busy city center, I’m able to witness what makes this place a watering hole for the city and its population. Each day, thousands of people pass through here on their way to work, school, or whatever they may have in store for the day. This can really be a sight to behold. In fact, one of my favorite things to do here is just to sit back and watch the crowd.
Just the amount of interesting, amusing, and outright strange people that one can see in Robson Square makes the place worth a visit. Even spending under an hour here let’s one catch a glimpse into the lives of so many different types of people. To get the most out of this place, one should really try and appreciate the strangers around them. For many, people-watching is a subconscious activity that tends to happen whenever we’re around a lot of people. For others, however, it’s more of a hobby to seek out and enjoy. Watching the crowd is a way to ground yourself and evaluate your own personal role in society. By comparing and contrasting oneself to so many different people with their own individual agendas, mindsets, and ambitions, a spectator can really gain an introspective viewpoint into their own mind. By singling out and focusing on a small group or single person, I really begin to wonder what series of events in their life has led up to them being in Robson Square at this moment in time.
Theoretically, you can partake in people-watching almost anywhere you go. But not many places have the same excitement and opportunities that Robson Square does. Most college American university campuses in general are examples of this. The center square of any major U.S. university is a great place to watch students walk to and fro from class. However, almost all of the people who you’ll be watching here are on campus for only one reason: to go to class and learn. This affects the way people act, dress, and carry themselves, even subconsciously. A college student on their way to an Economics midterm is going to have a completely different mindset than someone who just finished eating dinner at a fancy restaurant and is now on their way to meet some friends at a bar. Furthermore, most of the people you’ll see while people-watching at a college campus will be young American citizens sharing similar stages in their lives and outlooks on life. These things will really affect the entire people-watching experience for a bystander. In Vancouver, however, the diversity is extremely apparent. According to the 2011 Canadian Census, 48% of the population is a visible minority, with that number rising rapidly. Being one of the most ethnically diverse cities in North America, the city is thriving with a plethora of different languages, religious ceremonies, and cultural traditions. In addition to other cultures and nationalities, there’s also people here of varying ages, appearances, religions, careers, wealth, and social status. It’s not uncommon to see an old, homeless bearded man followed closely by a group of young Chinese girls in designer clothes and shopping bags.
So what can one expect to find in Robson Square? Well, it’s almost impossible to offer a definitive answer to that question. Every week the square hosts a new event or art exhibit, and the atmosphere is constantly changing. If you’re one to appreciate nature, you can surely find plenty of that here. Robson Square was designed to provide a healthy blend of city and nature, with flower gardens, green lawns, and three cascading waterfalls flowing through the urban landscape. Most of the people you’ll be watching here are busy enjoying some sort of savory lunch or snack, so why not have a bite to eat yourself? Each day, numerous food trucks line up on the sidewalk to serve everything from gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches to savory Indian and Thai curries; perfect foods to keep your belly full while you eyes are still trying to take in all the sights. Amusing musical acts or street performers set up here throughout the day, so there’s often some nice music to accompany your time here, too.
If you’re still not satisfied by watching people, just being in the middle of the city opens up countless opportunities to do something exciting. Why not relax in Robson Square while you contemplate what you’ll do next? There’s hundreds of unique clothing boutiques on Robson Street, numerous bars, clubs, and venues in the Granville entertainment district, and beautiful waterfront strolls available just a few minutes’ walk from the square. The possibilities of how to spend your time here are endless.
Despite the countless benefits Robson Square has to offer, it’s not quite flawless. Many people prefer to spend time in a quieter and calmer environment, and silence is usually something that Robson Square cannot offer. In fact, it is quite noisy. Robson Street cuts right through the center of the square, and it’s often being used by anything from large commercial transport vans to engine-revving supercars and motorcycles. These vehicles can certainly be distracting and annoying, not to mention dangerous.
But fear not, there’s good news for patrons of the square. This April, the Vancouver City Council voted to permanently close the block to all motorized traffic. “A permanent plaza at Robson Square will be a mainstay to enhance Vancouver’s walkability, vibrant culture and livability,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson in a release shortly thereafter. Not only will this change open up opportunities for more areas to watch people from every angle, but it will also help encourage more people to walk around freely through the square and create a more social atmosphere. As a bystander relaxing in the square, these are all things that will help contribute greatly to the quality of people-watching one can enjoy here.
When development of Robson Square was underway in the late 1970s, its architect, Arthur Erikson, said that his goal was to provide an “introspective view of the city”, and it’s apparent that it achieves just that. By watching the masses pass through each day, one is able to catch a glimpse into the thriving, vivid city life of Vancouver. The longer you spend here, the more interesting it gets. As day transitions to night, the type of people coming and going changes too. Businessmen in suits and families with young children are steadily replaced with young, scantily clad women and large groups of very intoxicated men shouting in Arabic ready to hit the nearby nightlife. The sounds of deep bass music begin to permeate the air as the chirping of songbirds fades. It’s a reminder that this space is a constant host to thousands of different people with their own agendas and ideas of entertainment, even in the middle of the night.
This place is a shining example of just how important public squares and common spaces can be to the livelihood and sense of community in any large city. These places provide shelter, entertainment, and human interaction to anyone that may be in need. “Cultures and climates differ all over the world,” explains famed Danish architect Jan Gehl, “but people are the same. They will gather in public if you give them a good place to do it.” Humans are social creatures, and we all inherently desire interaction with others. It’s for this reason that Robson Square is an integral part of the city of Vancouver, and reflects the role public spaces such as this play in the wider scope of society.
Public squares are present everywhere in the world, all fulfilling their intended purpose of bringing people together. Another famous common space, Union Square in New York City, helps to show the importance of places like this while providing one of the most interesting people-watching experiences available. This place is so unique, in fact, that it hosts an entire Youtube channel dedicated to filming the strange antics of the people here. Normal Bob Smith, who’s been filming in the square for over a decade, attracts millions of views with his videos of artists, performers, addicts, and just outright odd people one can expect to see in a public place like this. Through his camera lens, Smith allows the world to people-watch in a place that they’ve never even been to.
Perhaps one of the most important reasons for Robson Square’s people-watching reputation is its sense of community. Many people use this plaza as a place to meet their friends, gather, and hang out with one another. According to Michelle, a young woman who I chatted with a bit one afternoon, who had a huge trekking backpack and a scruffy-looking dog laying next to her, Robson Square’s role as a meeting place has become so apparent that she can “come here any time, any day, and see friends and familiar faces.” Different people use the square for different things, but it all boils down, more or less, to being a part of the community here. Because of this, unique and interesting people flock here and add to the colorful, spirited atmosphere that one can experience by people-watching in the square.
In essence, the goal of a common area is to serve as a place for people to come together, meet, and mingle with others. There’s no other place in Vancouver that fulfills this purpose better than Robson Square. It’s for this reason that this is the perfect place to act as a bystander in a fast-paced, lively city environment, and to witness, even for a fleeting moment, the lives of others. People-watching here not only allows for one to be entertained by a diverse, ever-changing crowd, or even get an autograph from your favorite K-pop star, but also for a chance to be surprised from what you may discover about yourself and the community that you’re a part of.
