Vancouver, consistently ranked one of the three most livable cities in the world, is located between Georgia Strait and the Coast Mountains of British Columbia. According to a 2007 report, Vancouver tied with Vienna as having the third highest quality of living after Zurich and Geneva. As the host of the 2010 Olympic Games, Vancouver’s amenities are improving even further, with new world-class highways, transport links and facilities built to accommodate athletes and visitors from around the globe.

Vancouver’s resource-based economy, long tied to forestry and fishing, has diversified over time. With a growing tourism trade and the third-largest film production centre in North America, after Los Angeles and New York, Vancouver is a hot-spot destination for both families and the Hollywood elite. The mild climate of the city and close proximity to ocean, mountains, rivers and lakes make the area a popular destination for outdoor recreation.

In the late 1950s and 1960s city planners deliberately encouraged the development of high-rise residential towers in Vancouver's downtown, resulting in a compact urban core amenable to public transit, cycling, and pedestrian traffic. The city continues to pursue policies intended to increase density as an alternative to suburban sprawl, such as the local government’s EcoDensity plan — an initiative 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.

Vancouver has been called a "city of neighbourhoods," each with a distinct character and ethnic mix. People of British origin were historically the largest ethnic group in the city, and elements of British society and culture are 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 languages being represented. The result is that Vancouver now has the largest concentration of Overseas Chinese in North America. Bilingual street signs can be seen in various neighbourhoods, including Chinatown and the Punjabi Market.

The city's popularity comes with a price. Vancouver can be an expensive city, with the highest housing prices in Canada. Several 2006 studies rank Vancouver as having the most expensive housing in Canada, ranking 13th highest in the world. The average two-storey home in Vancouver sells for $837,500, compared with $489,889 in Toronto and $411,456 in Calgary, the next most expensive major cities in Canada.

Vancouver has over 1,298 hectares (3,200 acres) of parks. Stanley Park is the largest at 404 hectares (1,000 acres). The municipality also has several large beaches, many adjacent to one another, with the largest groups extending from the coast of Stanley Park before reaching False Creek, and on the other side of English Bay, starting in the Kitsilano neighbourhood all the way to the University of British Columbia Endowment Lands.

Community resources

Community Centres
www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/parks/cc Vancouver has over 20 community centres with swimming pools, ice rinks and athletic facilities.

Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation
www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/parks Offers information on parks and recreation in the Vancouver area.

UBC Museum of Anthropology
www.moa.ubc.ca Contains one of the province’s largest collections of First Nations art and artifacts.

The Vancouver Museum
www.vanmuseum.bc.ca View breathtaking vistas of this beautiful city from the museum’s spectacular new gallery while exploring Vancouver's fascinating history. 1100 Chestnut Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada, (604) 736-4431

Vancouver Maritime Museum
www.vmm.bc.ca Interprets the story of Canada's Pacific port and its links with the Pack Rim with artifacts, models, paintings, photographs. 1905 Ogden Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada, (604) 257-8300

Vancouver Public Library
www.vpl.org One of Vancouver’s most recognizable buildings, a modernized version of Rome’s Coliseum, the Vancouver Public Library has branches in every city community.

Vancouver School Board
www.sd39.bc.ca

City Hall
www.city.vancouver.bc.ca 453 West 12th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, V5Y 1V4, Phone: 604-873-7011