Metro Vancouver Districts & Neighbourhoods

Deciding on an area or neighbourhood to reside in is important. Metro Vancouver certainly has many vibrant, colourful communities throughout and to help you with choosing one, this page will provide a brief description of some of them.

Yaletown – False Creek

Yaletown is located downtown Vancouver, bordered approximately by False Creek, Robson and Homer Streets. This lively quadrant of the city has become one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods in the city. Handsome brick warehouses have been turned into loft-styled apartments and offices with shops, bars and restaurants at the ground level.  Yaletown is served by the Canada Line (Yaletown-Roundhouse Skytrain Station), the C-23 Translink community bus, and the Aqua Bus and False Creek Ferries which run along False Creek making stops in Yaletown, Granville Island and Science World among other stops.

West End

The West End of Vancouver  is on the downtown peninsula neighbouring Stanley Park and the areas of Yaletown, Coal Harbour and the downtown financial and central business districts. This fantastic neighbourhood, which has Stanley Park on one side and water on the other, has a mixture of heritage residential buildings, newer condominiums, concrete islands, sidewalk barricades, and mini-parks. Lots of great restaurants and fashionable boutiques are located on the stretches of the West End quadrant, bounded by Robson and Davie Streets and by Burrard and Denman Streets. The area also includes two elementary schools, one high school, St. Paul’s Hospital, community centres, fitness centres and other services.

Coal Harbour

A relatively new neighbourhood, Coal Harbour is home to many upscale high-rise condominiums and office buildings. The area encompasses parkland, private marinas several rowing and boating clubs and a community centre in the northwest section by Stanley Park, the financial district in the southeast across Georgia Street, and the business district between Hastings and Georgia Streets. Six floating homes are also located in the harbour. Shops, hotels, and other services are located there, nestled amidst work, play and luxurious living of the Coal Harbour community.

West Vancouver

Home to some very large and expensive properties and houses, West Vancouver is mainly a residential district as many residents are retired, work at home, or take the short commute to downtown Vancouver.  Ambleside, a 25-block strip of Marine Drive, serves as the commercial district which features shops, small and large retailers,  small offices, garages and gas stations, restaurants, banks, and other common amenities. Canada’s first shopping mall Park Royal Shopping Centre is located here. West Vancouver is also known for its many wonderful scenic parks which include Whytecliff Park and Cypress Provincial Park, popular amongst families and outdoor enthusiasts.

North Vancouver

Within North Vancouver includes the District of North Vancouver which is mainly made up of single-family residential housing with an industrial base along the shoreline of the Burrard Inlet and a few small pockets of commercial centres. It is bounded by the Capilano River to the west, Indian Arm to the east, Burrard Inlet to the south, and the North Shore mountians to the west.  The City of North Vancouver, on the other hand, has a much more urban feel. It is home to the majority of the North Shore’s high rise buildings, rental properties, and commercial operations. There are also industrial sites along the shore of Burrard Inlet, although in recent years several of these have begun to convert to residential and commercial areas. The Lonsdale Quay public market, the northern terminal for Vancouver’s Seabus, other shopping and services are found on Lower Lonsdale and Central Lonsdale –the downtown of the North Shore.

Burnaby

Burnaby features high density residential areas, major commercial town centres, rapid transit, high technology research and business parks, movie and TV studio facilities and comprehensive industrial estates. It is a maturing, increasingly integrated community, which is centrally located within a rapidly growing metropolitan area. From Metrowtown’s ever sprouting condominium towers in the south to residential houses  in the Willingdon North area, Burnaby offers a lot: recreation with its many parks and lakes, shopping especially at the 450-store Metropolis at Metrotown, restaurants, schools and much more. It also has efficient transit serviced by well-run bus routes and the Millenium and Expo lines of the Skytrain.

New Westminster

Located at the centre of the Lower Mainland,  New Westminster is the oldest city in western Canada and the first capital of British Columbia, a city deeply connected to a rich past, brimming with excitement for a bright future.  New Westminster continues to attract new families and businesses alike. It has a mix of residential high rise condominiums, townhouses,  houses/old mansions and businesses from Sapperton, Columbia and Front Streets to Queensborough. Arts and culture,  sports and recreation and heritage among others are very important to the New Westminster community.   Five Skytrain stations link the city to centres throughout Metro Vancouver and there is close access to major road, rail, air and water connections.

Coquitlam

The largest city within the Tri-Cities, Coquitlam is strategically located at the geographic centre of the Lower Mainland, making the city an attractive place for residents, industries and a thriving retail sector. Four distinct areas lie within the rapidly growing city of Coquitlam, all offering diverse neighbourhoods. There is Southwest Coquitlam – a well-established network of public and commercial services and residential neighbourhoods  characterized by a variety of building styles, from the modern to the historical, graced with the French-Canadian flavour of Maillardville. The Town Centre is the focal point for civic, cultural and educational services including the David Lam campus of Douglas College, Evergreen Cultural Centre and Coquitlam City Hall. Westwood Plateau, a prime residential development  is dotted with cluster houses, townhomes, single family houses, two golf courses, creeks and walking trails. Finally, there is Northeast Coquitlam where there is a mix of older, well-established and new neighbourhoods, as well as extensive rural properties and farms.

Port Coquitlam

Port Coquitlam, part of the Tri-Cities,  is a vibrant community which boasts idyllic natural settings, a strategic location, progressive business opportunities, small town spirit and a dedication to healthy living, offering an exceptional living and working environment for people of all ages and lifestyles. It is also centrally located within Metro Vancouver, with easy access to Vancouver via road, transit and commuter rail links. Combined with the availability of affordable industrial, commercial and residential properties, this accessibility has attracted a large number of progressive enterprises to the community.  Residents have access to more than 266 hectares of parkland and wonderful outdoor trails for cycling, hiking and leisurely walks. Port Coquitlam also offers a wide variety of housing choices, quality schools, health care facilities, shopping, recreation and arts facilities.

Port Moody

The City of Arts, as Port Moody is known, is home to annual festivals, arts groups and diverse facilities that help foster a creative community. It has booming residential construction which may account for its increase in population growth; 8,015 residential dwellings are owned while 2,115 are rented. It is the smallest of the Tri-Cities and is home to beautiful Rocky Point Park which has hiking trails, a newly renovated spray park, a skate park, a bike trials park, a playground, a picnic shelter, a boat launch and a recreational pier. Within Port Moody is NewPort Village, a small commercial and residential area which contains many small shops, low rise apartments and a few high rise apartments.

Facts courtesy of:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
http://www.city.port-coquitlam.bc.ca
http://www.coquitlam.ca/default.htm