The Systems That Surround Us: Watching Life Unfold in the City

In February our team will be focusing our ideas and explorations around the environment in line with our ongoing explanation of All That Surrounds Us, looking at everyday life in different locations and how people live in their environments. Whilst the internet, cinema, and social media allow us to have access to so many different perspectives and insights into life in different cities, it's important to remember the wide range of life just on our doorstep in Edinburgh. What better way to kick off our observations on the systems that surround us than giving our handpicked recommendations on the best people-watching spots, activities, and places to observe life in Edinburgh?

In my personal opinion, there is no better way to people-watch in the city and observe everyone living in their environments than climbing one of Edinburgh's many hills, with Calton Hill being my favourite. As the weather slowly but surely starts to get brighter again, a clear day will pull crowds from all kinds of tourists and local residents alike to get a glimpse of a colourful sunset slipping under the city's skyline. On my many visits up here I've had picnics, caught up with friends I haven't seen in months, had my fair share of cries, and even witnessed a proposal on a particularly lovely winter's day. I always find it's the best place to go if I want to be reminded that the city and life is much bigger than just campus when university stress is getting to me.

Now infamously, another excellent way to observe life in a big city is people-watching in cafes, and Edinburgh is certainly not short of options. A window seat in Kilimanjaro Coffee is always great to see what people are getting up to around Newington, and you're guaranteed to see a range of locals, people in and out of charity shops, and uni students struggling with bags in the rain. My personal favourite cafes are ones that get you away from campus for the afternoon, and Cairngorm Coffee is a standout for me. Situated near Edinburgh's New Town and West End, the cafe is the perfect spot to grab a cappuccino and see different systems overlap as high street shoppers collide with Edinburgh's business world.

Finally, there's nothing like a nice long walk to observe life and people in a city and the environments around us. The Water of Leith is the perfect place to walk along to break up an afternoon, especially if you want to escape the cars and traffic and maybe get the chance to pet some cute dogs along the way.

Stretching all the way from Balerno to Leith docks where it meets the Firth of Forth, walking just a segment of the walkway can allow you to run into people from all walks of life, with plenty of independent café vans and post boxes along the route enabling you to have a refreshment break.

That's all our recommendations for February but get in touch with us on our Instagram to let us know if you enjoyed our must see spots, and follow along on our blog to see what our recommendations for March are, correlating with next month's theme!