Vancouver’s Development and Growth Plans
The 2010 Olympics
Green Vancouver
We not only live in a luscious green city full of plentiful outdoors activities but the City of Vancouver continues to do its part for the local and global environment. The city offers a great recycling program as well as Climate Protection and a Green Homes program. Click here for more information.
Vancouver is also now hosting a Green Living Show with its second annual show coming this March 6-8th 2009 at BC Place. It is the city’s premier consumer show dedicated to all things green. Have a look here for more details and ticket information.
City Living
As Vancouver has so many diverse communities your immediate area plays a large part in your lifestyle. Overall the city offers a vibrant and friendly mix of cultures. Here’s just a hint of Vancouver living:
Click here for a full list of city events
Metropolis in a city – the people of Vancouver
Vancouver has been called a "city of neighbourhoods", each with a distinct character and ethnic mix. People of English, Scottish and Irish origins were historically the largest ethnic groups in the city, and elements of British society and culture are still highly visible in some areas, particularly South Granville and Kerrisdale. The Chinese are by far the largest visible ethnic group in the city, and Vancouver has one of the most diverse Chinese-speaking communities, with several Chinese dialects being represented, including Cantonese and Mandarin. There are also some neighbourhoods with high concentrations of single ethnic groups, such as the Punjabi Market or Little India, Little Italy, Greektown, and Japantown. Bilingual street signs can be seen in various neighbourhoods, including Chinatown and the Punjabi Market. (Taken from wikipedia online).
Owning in Canada
With the world population growing, Canada is quickly becoming the sought-after country to live in with more space and a higher quality of life than many competing countries. The Economist Intelligence Unit\'s livability shows cities in Canada, Australia, Austria and Switzerland as the most ideal destinations thanks to a widespread availability of goods and services, low personal risk and an effective infrastructure. The report placed Vancouver, Canada as the most livable city in the world, with Melbourne, Australia taking second place followed by Vienna. The survey said \"In the current global political climate, it is no surprise that the most desirable destinations are those with a lower perceived threat of terrorism. Canadian cities also ranked highly in the survey. In addition to Vancouver, the Canadian cities Toronto and Calgary were all placed within the top 10, with Ottawa and Edmonton ranked within the top 25. (Taken from Wikipedia online)
Vancouver Climate
Yes Vancouver gets a lot of rain; however, this mean snow on the mountains in the winter, and lush local vegetation year round. This weather is great for sailing too. It doesn’t snow often in the city but every few years when it does snow it brings a beautiful blanket of white over the city with stunning ocean and mountains as its permanent backdrop. Vancouver’s average year round temperature is 14°C with a high of 33°C. It is general a nice temperate oceanic climate warmed by the Japan Current. The city is also sheltered by the mountains of Vancouver Island, to the Wet. These influences make Vancouver the warmest of Canada’s major cities. Vancouver will become the warmest city ever to host the Winter Olympics in 2010.
Vancouver - A Growing Portal to the World
With an inner city population of only 611,869 and total suburban population of 2,249,725, Vancouver and continuing to grow by approximately 30,000 people per year it is no wonder real estate in Vancouver has proven to be a solid investment. The city’s plan has traditionally been to encourage the development of high-rise buildings for a compact urban core amenable to public transit, cycling and pedestrian traffic. As an alternative to sprawl the city continues to pursue policies to increase density. Mayor Sam Sullivan’s EcoDensity initiative was designed to create quality and high-density areas in the city while making property ownership more economical. The plan also calls for the increased construction of community centres, parks and cultural facilities.
Currently being constructed in Vancouver are two new world-renowned developments: The Shangri-La hotel livingshangri-la.com (now complete!) and The Residences at the Ritz Carlton vancouversturn.com. World-renowned architects such as our very own local Arthur Erickson are transforming the skyline of our city.
Vancouver also boasts the busiest seaport in Canada and exports more cargo than any other port in North America.
In addition, next to San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Sydney and London, Vancouver was ranked Canada’s second most expensive city to live after Toronto and the 89th most expensive globally, and in 2006 the 56th most expensive city in which to live among 143 cities in the world. Vancouver was also ranked as the 10th cleanest city in the world.
Population growth, 1886 to 2006.
| Year |
Vancouver |
Metro |
| 1891 |
13,709 |
21,887 |
| 1901 |
26,133 |
42,926 |
| 1911 |
100,401 |
164,020 |
| 1921 |
117,217 |
232,597 |
| 1931 |
246,593 |
347,709 |
| 1941 |
275,353 |
393,898 |
| 1951 |
344,833 |
562,462 |
| 1956 |
365,844 |
665,564 |
| 1961 |
384,522 |
790,741 |
| 1966 |
410,375 |
892,853 |
| 1971 |
426,256 |
1,028,334 |
| 1976 |
410,188 |
1,085,242 |
| 1981 |
414,281 |
1,169,831 |
| 1986 |
431,147 |
1,266,152 |
| 1991 |
471,644 |
1,602,590 |
| 1996 |
514,008 |
1,831,665 |
| 2001 |
545,671 |
1,986,965 |
| 2006 |
578,041 |
2,116,581 |
| 2007 |
611,869 |
2,249,725 |
Taken from Wiki
Squamish, Birth of a Super Suburb
Squamish, dubbed the “Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada”, is a captivating spot to visit any time of year. For many years it has been one of Canada’s “hidden gems”. It is ideally located at the tip of the Howe Sound just 45 minutes north of Vancouver and 40 minutes south of Whistler and will be central to the 2010 winter Olympics. The small city is in the midst of a boom, growing in size with new commercial and residential developments, new businesses and new activities, all which bring a wealth of new opportunity to the town.
The valley offers a huge variety of outdoor activities some of which include everything from world-class rock climbing, mountain biking, bird watching, golfing and sightseeing to sailing, windsurfing, kayaking, white-water rafting and fishing.
Besides the array of outdoor activities, people choose to live in Squamish because the community is made up of a diverse group of people who are working together to find that balance between work and nature. Whether your pleasure is sport, nature, arts, or culture, you will find a unique authenticity of ingredients in the makeup of Squamish.
Here are some of the new developments in Squamish:
amblepath.com
brackenarmsestates.com
coastalvillageliving.com
eaglewindsquamish.com
furrycreek.ca/index2.html
porteaucove.com
redpointliving.com/main.html
thunderbirdliving.com
universityheights.ca
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