Caucho

Situation

It is the Métropole Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) the District of the known Région under the name of Lower Mainland (metropolitan region being in the south-western corner of the province), where live: 2200000 people (2004). Since November 2005, Vancouver has a new mayor, Sam Sullivan. For the first time, in North America, the mayor of a big city is a tetraplegic. He had an accident several years ago. To the Winter Olympics of 2006, it went itself to Turin, in Italy, to take the Olympic relay. Vancouver is the third most important agglomeration of the country and the economic capital of the Colombia-British.

Vancouver is currently in full change and has several great projects and events in swing:

the Olympic and paralympic Games in 2010,
the world Conference of the cities in 2006,
the world Championship of hockey junior in 2006,
the refitting of the old buildings of the Woodwards department store,
the creation of a new line of subway of eighteen new stations before 2009, between Richmond, the airport and the center town of Vancouver.
Il also exists of many projects related to transport:
the construction of a new bridge with six ways,
the Golden delicious Ears,
the expansion of the Palate of the congresses of Vancouver,
the real developments along False Creek,
the international village and the “City Spoils”, etc

Geographical location

Located at the extreme south-west of Canada (49° of Northern latitude and 123° of Western longitude), Vancouver is surrounded by the river Fraser, of the Détroit of Georgia and the coastal Chaîne. The mountains rise with more than 1500 meters along the Howe Sound and of the corridor “Sea to Sky”. Abundant precipitations made area of Vancouver a place where the vegetation is luxuriant, where the trees are gigantic and where multiple gardens flower. However, the natural elements which compose its area restrict space available for the urbanization what makes today of Vancouver a compact city, centralized and where the density of the downtown area is one of strongest continent of North America. Currently, more: 560000 people elected residence in Vancouver. The agglomeration of Vancouver exceeds the two million inhabitants and includes a territory of 2900 km ², divided into twenty and one municipalities located inside or in the surroundings of the Delta of Fraser. Some of these municipalities are also more in north, along Howe Sound and of the Burrard Inlet. The agglomeration joined the border with the United States which is located at 38 km of the downtown area. Vancouver is located in the peaceful time zone (UTC-8). It is adjacent with the strait of Georgia which separates it from the Vancouver Island and joined the Pacific Ocean.

History

The ecosystem, with its abundance of plants and animal life, gets a variety of food and materials which allowed a large population Amerindians to live there during more than 10.000 years. A camp named “Wu' muthkweyum” (Musqueam), meaning “people of grass”, close to the mouth of the Fraser river, goes back to 3.000 years. Squamishs had villages in the coastal area.

The Spanish captain Jose Maria Narvaez was the first European to explore the strait of Georgia in 1791. The following year, in 1792, the British naval captain George Vancouver of King' S Lynn in Norfolk joined the Spanish forwarding based with the fjord of Nootka on the west coast of the Vancouver Island then explores the strait of Georgia, as Puget Sound.C' is him, George Vancouver who proves that British Columbia is well an island: of which the name of Vancouver like thanks.

The cut of the trees in particular for the masts of the ships was the first industry along the arm of the sea Burrard, maintaining the site of the port. The first sawmill began its activities in 1863 in Moodyville (renamed “North Vancouver” in 1915). The first structural timber export take place into 1865 towards the Australia.

In 1870, the colonial government made a land surveying of Granville in the west of Gastown.

In 1885, Granville was chosen by the railway undertaking Canadian Peaceful to be the terminal more in the west. Its arrival after a epic construction, stimulated by a savage competition, through the Rock ones allowed a fast expansion because of the access to the continental market. One of the engines which took part in this heroic age is nowadays exposed in the community center Round House on the Pacifique boulevard in Yaletown.

Landscape - Town planning

Vancouver includes the third larger city park of North America, Stanley Park.

Partly because of the scarcity of the ground available and also to leave space to the pedestrians on the level of the street, there are many pies of buildings of approximately 100 m height. A new skyscraper of luxury, the “Shangri” will be higher to it, to 150 Mr. When the visibility is good, one can observe the volcano of the Mont Baker in south-east.

In north, 3 mounts supervise the town of Vancouver: - Seymour moutain - Moutain Cypress - Grouse moutain

These three mountains become in winter of the very attended ski stations, all 3 served urban buses.

The town planning of Vancouver is very largely inspired by the town of San Francisco (US), one finds buildings there telque Lyon spoils bridge, little brother of the golden delicious located 3000 km at the south…

To have an idea in photographs of the landscapes, click here

Climate

The moderate and rainy climate of Vancouver which goes against the Canadian continental stereotype is similar to that of Seattle, the big city of the the United States of America located at approximately 300 km. The summer months are in general shone upon and agreeably heats.

Art to live there

Vancouver is a city with the environment slackened with an free access with the external activities like rambles, cycling, canoeing and near the ski stations. The homosexual are numerous in the western part of the downtown area.

Various means are employed in order to decrease the expenditure for housing, which is among highest in Canada. Those include the co-operatives, of the Community divisions (collocation).

Population

According to the census of Canada Statistics in 2001, the proportion of Vancouver which were born abroad goes up to 37,5%, conferring on Vancouver the third rank in North America, behind Toronto (43,7%) and Miami (40,2%). In comparison, the proportion of New York is at 24,4% and that of Montreal to 18,4%. Vancouver is also placed at the top of the Canadian areas for the proportion of the visible minorities in 2001, with a percentage of 40%. Between 1981 and 1996, according to the statistics of the Colombia-British, 86,4% of the immigrants of Vancouver coming from the foreigner came from the continent of Asia and only 3,5% from the continent of Europe. According to the census of Canada in 2001,34% of the metropolitan region of Vancouver is Asian. In this number, 17,9% come from China, 7,22% of the east of the India, and 3,13% of the Filipino . To comparison, the proportion of the Asian population in Montreal amounts to 6,89%. The Asian influence is omnipresent in Vancouver on all the economic sectors. The bonds which the city has with the other countries of the Pacific make it possible Vancouver to be the Canadian city which depends economically less on the United States. The Chinese district, one of three more important of the continent, is also almost as old as the city it even.

Vancouver is a mixture of ethnos groups and religions. It has the third Chinese district in importance in North America (after those of New York and San Francisco), however the majority of this vast Chinese population is out of this district. The district Punjab I is that of the fabric salesmen on the center of the street Main. However it is in the town of Surrey - in the suburbs of Vancouver - that the majority reside. Before the handing-over of Hong-Kong to the China much of its inhabitants elected residence in Vancouver. This is why it carries also the nickname of Hongcouver.

| valign=" top" | |} |}

Industry, economy and transport

Vancouver is a young and dynamic city. Its economy rests mainly on the natural resources of its back-country and tourism. It diversifies its economy towards the development of biotechnology, the creation of software and the development of cinema industry, an activity which is already important in Vancouver (it is even called Hollywood of North). The city accommodates approximately 10% of films of Hollywood, from where two of its Surnom S - “Brollywood” and “Hollywood North”. Many American series of television are filmed exclusively in Vancouver, like the first seasons of X-Files or Stargate SG-1 the popular emission of Smallville is turned in its suburbs, of Surrey, Cloverdale and Langley. For this reason it there as many Canadians in the series, in particular Kristin Kreuk and Erica the Durance.

The International airport of Vancouver (YVR), located on the island of the sea in the municipality of Richmond, is the second most important airport of the country after that of Pearson of Toronto. The Association of international air transport classifies it as being the best airport of America to annually serve 15 to 25 million passengers and the second any category confused. The YVR is reproduced on the list of the ten best airports in the world and is the only one of Canada to be appeared in it.

The wearing of Vancouver is vital for the economy of the province: Vancouver is the North-American main door for the trade with the countries of Asia and the Pacific. As regards the volume of its international exports, the city is classified at the second level of the continent. According to the town of Vancouver, its international port also dominates the world as regards the trade of the Grain. It is however classified as a second in the septentrional part of the continent according to some other sources, for total foreign exports and the total volume of cargo.

Tourism industry, for example cruisings towards the Alaska, made fulgurating great strides since the city was host of the World Fair of transport in 1986, year of its centenary of existence. Whistler with 126 kilometers in the north of Vancouver, is a famous ski station and of world famous. Grouse Mountain, Mount Seymour and Cypress Mountain, each one with a variety of sports of summer and winter, are at thirty minutes of the center town without taking account of the crossing of the bridges and in particular of that of the first strait.

The parks, the seaside, the background of mountains, the cut out coasts, the vast and luminous streets with the not encumbered broad pavements, Skytrain, combined with its cultural character (multi-ethnic), contribute to its attraction.

Vancouver and Whistler will be the hosts of the Winter Olympics of 2010.

A race of cars of the kart type takes place in summer.

Urban transport

The SkyTrain is the light Métro of very effective and pleasant Vancouver, it includes/understands 2 lines, Expo line (built for Expo 86) and Millenium line . A third line, Canada line , is currently in construction to connect the center town to the airport and Richmond. and will be completed in 2009 for the Winter Olympics.

The use of the bicycle is facilitated by a rather fluid motor vehicle traffic, little motorcycle and especially arranged avenues. (Bikeways).

The municipal regulation and the geography protected Vancouver from the multiplication of the expressways and the only portion of highway (of less than one kilometer) is the viaduct of the street Georgia. The Route transcanadienne passes in extreme cases Eastern of the city.

It is planned to install Draisine S on the way with Arbutus.

Sites of interest

Among the remarkable buildings in the city, one counts:

the Real Navy, the Vancouver hotel,
the Museum of anthropology at the University of Colombia-British (with a collection of world famous of Amerindian art including of works of Bill Reid)
the Vancouver Art Gallery (of the notable collections include illustrations of Marc Chagall and paintings of Emily Carr),
the small cathedral

There are several recent constructions seizing in downtown area, such as the law courts and surrounding place (of the architect Arthur Erickson) and principal library (Moshe Safdie), interpreting Colisée of the ancient Rome. This city which multiplies the honors throughout the world is in fact San Francisco with Canadian. The climate is softest of the country (with Victoria). In spite of its airs of big city, nature is never far from the glance. The place of Canada, with its famous fabrics of boats, is one of the principal attractions of Vancouver. Even if the city is young and hardly has just celebrated its centenary, it does not remain about it less than it became a large metropolis thanks to the railroad, with the shipping terminal and the Asian investment in the metropolis. It thus became one of the cities more in vogue of North America in record time.
A little before the stock exchange crash of 1929, Vancouver had the most skyscraper of all the British empire and one of the most impressive hotels of the continent. Yaletown and Gastown, the two old workings of the city were renovated during the 20 last years. The city is equipped with several shopping malls of international gauges. Lastly, Stanley Park is regarded as being a stopover obliged for all the tourists. It is one of the largest city parks of the continent. A seawall several kilometers circumvents the park giving of impressive seen on English bay ( English Bay ) in the Pacific. It is on this natural oasis (Oregon fir and luxuriant vegetation) that the Vancouver Aquarium is located, the most important aquarium of Canada and one of largest in America.

Downtown Eastside

The downtown area of Vancouver is located on a peninsula surrounded by Stanley Park, Burrard Inlet, False Creek and Bay of the English. The downtown area continues towards the east on the only limit which is not surrounded by water. Downtown Eastside is located mainly at the east of the peninsula, which is worth its name of Downtown Eastside to him. The district includes Gastown, Chinatown, Victory public garden, Thornton park, Strathcona, Oppenheimer, certain industrial grounds and the Hastings corridor. More precisely, the district is located between Burrard Inlet at north, the streets Pender and Terminal in the south, the Clark avenue in the east and the street Richards in the west. With 205 hectares, this district represents less than 2% of the territory of the city.

Sectors for the municipal election

Vancouver is one of the only great municipalities in Canada whose municipal election is total. The left supported by the media wishes to divide it by district. October 16th, 2004 the majority refused this change which would amongst other things have increased the administrative burden.

Colleges and universities

The university of Colombia-British (UBC) is with the west and the Université Simon Fraser (of Arthur Erickson) in the east in Burnaby. The Institute of Technology of British Columbia (BCIT) and other smaller colleges, like those of Capillano and Langara are also in the area of Vancouver.

Professional teams of sport

Millionaires of Vancouver former team of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association which gains in 1915, the Coupe Stanley (1911-1926).
Canucks of Vancouver (National league of hockey)
British Columbia Lions (Canadian Football) plays BC Place Stadium
Vancouver Ravens (Lacrosse) - finished in 2004
Whitecaps of Vancouver (Football/soccer)
Vancouver Canadians (minor Baseball)

Relative position of the other municipalities in Great Vancouver

Northern: West Vancouver | North Vancouver (city and district)
: Strait off Georgia Vancouver
Is: Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Moody Port, Coquitlam Port, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge
: Richmond, Delta
: Surrey, Langley (city and township)

21 municipalities of Large Vancouver

Village of Anmore
Village of Belcarra
Municipality of the island Bowen
Quoted of Burnaby
Quoted of Coquitlam
Corporation of Delta
Quoted of Langley
Township de Langley
Village of Lions Bay
District of Maple Ridge
Quoted of New Westminster
Quoted of North Vancouver
District of North Vancouver
District of Pitt Meadows
Quoted of Port Coquitlam
Quoted of Port Moody
Quoted of Richmond
Quoted of Surrey
Quoted of Vancouver
District of West Vancouver
Quoted of White Rock'n'roll

Photograph gallery

Random links: