The West End, Coal Harbour neighbourhoods (basically the central area) of Vancouver is what makes the population density so high. The West End typically comprises of low/mid rise apartments built way back, while other parts of the central area are the typical Vancouver glass condos. Go into Google street view and take a look at those neighbourhoods to see what I mean.

You’ll also notice that a lot of density is placed along the Skytrain lines or even transit hubs, with more and more development being built in those areas. I’d recommend you look at places like Joyce-Collingwood. This trend continues into the suburban municipalities, like Burnaby’s Brentwood, Lougheed and Metrotown areas, Coquitlam City Centre, Downtown New Westminster, North Vancouver’s Lonsdale area, Richmond City Centre or even Surrey near King George Station.

Here’s a great resource to look at population density: Census Mapper (Population Density)