About Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver is a city in south-western British Columbia, Canada. The city is named after Captain George Vancouver, an English explorer. Vancouver is part of the Greater Vancouver Regional District metropolitan area. With a population of 2,180,737 (2006 estimate), it is the largest metropolitan area in western Canada and the third largest in the country. The population of Vancouver proper is 587,891. Vancouver has an ethnically diverse population: more than half of its residents have a mother tongue other than English. The city is growing rapidly, and the metropolitan population is projected to reach 2.6 million by 2020. A resident of Vancouver is called a "Vancouverite".
Vancouver is located between the Strait of Georgia and the Coast Mountains. Its economy has traditionally relied on British Columbia's resource sectors: forestry, mining, fishing and agriculture. It was first settled in the 1860s as a result of immigration caused by the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, and developed rapidly from a small lumber mill town into a metropolitan centre following the arrival of the transcontinental railway in 1887. The Port of Vancouver became internationally significant after the completion of the Panama Canal, which reduced freight rates in the 1920s and made it viable to ship export-bound prairie grain west through Vancouver. It has since become the busiest seaport in Canada, and exports more cargo than any other port in North America. The economy of Vancouver has diversified over time, however. Vancouver has a growing tourism industry, for example, and has become the third-largest film production centre in North America, after Los Angeles and New York City, earning it the nickname Hollywood North.
Vancouver is consistently ranked one of the three most livable cities in the world. In 2006, it was ranked the 56th most expensive city in which to live among 144 major cities in the world, and the second most expensive in Canada (after Toronto). The 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in Vancouver and nearby Whistler. Vancouver is considered by many, to be one of the worlds greatest cities, along with New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and a few others.
Location
Vancouver is situated at 49° 16' N, 123° 7' W, in the Pacific Time Zone (UTC-8). It is in the Pacific Maritime Ecozone. It is adjacent to the Strait of Georgia, a body of water that is shielded from the Pacific Ocean by Vancouver Island. Some unfamiliar with the region find it disconcerting that Vancouver does not lie on Vancouver Island. However, both the city and the island (and their American counterpart) are named after Captain George Vancouver of Great Britain, who explored the region in 1792.
Climate
Vancouver's climate is unusually temperate by Canadian standards; it is the warmest major city in Canada during the winter. The temperature and weather are similar to that of Seattle, Vancouver's nearest major US neighbour. Summer months are usually sunny and the temperatures moderate, with the daily maximum averaging 22°C (74°F) in July and August. Springs and autumns are generally rainy and cool. Rainfall is frequent in winter. Snow occurs in the surrounding mountains but rarely at sea level. Vancouver typically has one or two light snowfalls per winter. The daily average temperature in January is 3°C (37°F). For a few nights near the summer solstice each June, the northern sky remains slightly lit by the sun, and nightime lasts only about 6 hours.
People
Vancouver is home to people of many ethnic backgrounds and religions. It contains the second largest Chinatown in North America (after San Francisco's), and many ethnic neighbourhoods including the Punjabi Market, Japantown, Little Italy, and Greektown. Street signs bilingual in English and Chinese or Punjabi can be seen at centres of ethnic concentration. Prior to the hand-over of Hong Kong to China many Chinese immigrants made Vancouver their home, earning it the controversial nickname Hongcouver. This continued a tradition of immigrants flocking from all around the world to call Vancouver home. Statistics Canada data shows that 17% of the roughly 2 million population of the census metropolitan area is ethnic Chinese.
Vancouver has many progressive elements, including a bustling music and art scene, one of the largest gay communities in North America, and innovative approaches to drug issues. The Four Pillars Drug Strategy combines harm reduction (needle exchanges, safe injection sites) with prevention, treatment, and enforcement. Marijuana laws are generally unenforced within the city region allowing several "marijuana cafes" to open, earning it the name the Amsterdam of the North, or Vansterdam.
Vancouver is relatively free of racial tension; every ethnic group is represented in every social class. One result is a relatively high rate of intermarriage; trans-ethnic couples are unremarkable in any neighborhood.
Rankings
Vancouver ranked second (2002, 2003) and third (2004, 2005) in a worldwide quality of life survey of 215 cities, conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Vancouver consistently ranks in the top 5 in most worldwide rankings. Vancouver is always ranked number #1 when compared to its Canadian and American peers. Vancouver has tied for first with the cities of Salzburg and Oslo among the UN chosen cities for highest living standards the last 4 years running. |
