Like it or not, Robson Street is one of the most recognizable and vibrant spaces in our city. It was the site of impromptu Olympic celebration, it played host to the Stanley Cup Riots of 1994, and, notoriously, it’s home to two Starbucks outlets kitty-corner to one another. The street is as much a tourist destination as it is a place for locals to see and be seen, and though I scowl at the density of its bland consumer excess, I concede that Robson Street is a vibrant and interesting space. As such, I have chosen it as the starting point for an exploration of Vancouver’s great streets and spaces, and a discussion as to what makes them so.

Terminated by BC Place on one end and Lost Lagoon on the other, Robson Street stretches out as a bustling sidewalk densely fronted by stores, restaurants, hotels, and apartment buildings. The street exists in our minds, not as a mere traffic route, but as a destination as well. Both mentally and physically, it is a clearly bounded space. Now humour me and picture yourself in that space. Place yourself at Robson Square. Feel the energy of the crowds moving around you - young mothers with children in strollers, elderly couples, teenagers, leashed dogs, tourists. Breathe in the life that surrounds you.

Now face west and head down the sidewalk. As you stroll past shop after shop - brand-name clothing boutiques, déclassé souvenir shops, bars, cafes and trendy places to eat - you can’t help but be stimulated by the variety of people and things to look at. Take note of the street performer wailing on her guitar, the pin-traders desperately trying to unload 2010 Olympic merchandise. Have a clumsy chat with whoever happens to be plugging an issue on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Have a look into the road. If the weather is pleasant enough you’ll see aggressive young men in cars cruising slowly down the street. If you’re like me, the presence of these noisy, motorized peacocks might ruffle your feathers. Relax - it isn’t worth your while to get flustered by such boisterous male display. Better to notice that the slow-moving and sometimes gridlocked traffic these grandstanders are wedged in is contributing to your sense of ease as a pedestrian. Unlike Broadway, Main, or Commercial, on Robson there are no two-ton steel projectiles hurtling down the roadway.

It is this pedestrian comfort that makes Robson Street work so well. Between Burrard and Jervis everything is built to a human scale and moves accordingly. The environment is compact, the destinations within walking distance. Awnings provide shelter on a rainy day. Store signage isn’t so big as to be dispiriting - like the huge golden arches staked alongside almost every suburban thoroughfare.

Designed with people in mind, the regularity of the streetscape creates an inviting room-like quality. The street and sidewalk supply the floor, while the storefronts provide the walls. And these are not blank, faceless walls either. They’re windows, doors, and balconies - providing a glimpse into what’s going on inside, or outside. The street is the focus of everything, and the result is an overwhelming sense of place.

The height of the buildings allows sunlight to reach the sidewalk, and when the sun is beaming down, a canopy of evenly spaced trees offers respite. Robson’s east-west orientation allows pedestrians to choose whether to stroll the sunny or shady side of the street, and in the fall or winter, when the deciduous trees have shed their leaves, the sun is allowed to shine through.

The street trees add further to your sense of ease. The trees, combined with the steel barricade of parked cars along the sidewalk, protect pedestrians from automobiles rumbling past. People on the sidewalk can relax, and not constantly be on guard against the possibility of a stray auto. The on-street parking also slows cars down. Drivers tend to move more cautiously when confronted with the prospect of another car pulling out into their path, especially when there’s only a single lane in each direction. This smaller road width slows traffic and also allows pedestrians to cross the street more easily, and thus more frequently. Retail reaps the benefits.

The relationship between increased traffic safety and denser, human-scaled retail streets is now well known. What Robson and its surrounding neighbourhood offers is a cozy and secure landscape that is navigable for those not in cars. Less than a third of West End residents depend on automobiles for transportation. The rest either use public transport, cycle, or simply walk to wherever they need to be. Things, however, could’ve ended up very differently.

North American road designers had one overriding objective through the mid- to late-twentieth century: to facilitate the rapid movement of vehicles. In the 1960s, Robson Street nearly succumbed to Motordom when plans were put in motion to set back new buildings an additional six feet from the road, with the goal of adding an extra lane in each direction. It’s hard to imagine what the street might have become. Thankfully, the plans never came to fruition, and today Robson remains a comfortable, shared social space and a public amenity, making it distinctive amongst Metro Vancouver streets.

The Robson shopping experience, however, is anything but distinctive. Shops like Tommy Hilfiger, La Senza, Roots, and Banana Republic offer products that can be obtained in shopping malls and on streets throughout the region. The fact that people flock here is telling: more than the shopping, it’s the space that draws people to Robson.