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Vancouver is a coastal city and major
seaport located in the Lower Mainland of southwestern British
Columbia, Canada. It is the largest city in British Columbia and the
second largest metropolitan area in the Pacific Northwest region. It
is bounded by the Strait of Georgia, Burrard Inlet, the Fraser River,
the city of Burnaby, and the University Endowment Lands. Vancouver is
named after Captain George Vancouver, a British explorer.
The population of the city of Vancouver is 578,041 and the population
of Metro Vancouver is 2,116,581 (2007 estimate). Vancouver is also
part of the slightly larger Lower Mainland metropolitan area which
comprises a total population of 2,285,900, making it the largest
metropolitan area in Western Canada and the third largest in the
country. Vancouver is ethnically diverse, with 52% of city residents
and 43% of residents of Metro Vancouver (the regional district
focussed on Vancouver) having a first language other than English.
Vancouver was first settled in the 1860s as a result of immigration
caused by the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, particularly from the United
States, although many immigrants did not remain after the rush. The
city 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 traditionally relied on British
Columbia's resource sectors: forestry, mining, fishing and
agriculture. It has diversified over time, however, and Vancouver
today has a large service industry, a growing tourism industry, and it
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 has had an expansion in high-tech industries, most
notably video game development.
Vancouver is consistently ranked one of the three most livable cities
in the world. According to a 2008 report by Mercer Human Resource
Consulting for example, Vancouver has the fourth highest quality of
living in the world, after Zürich, Vienna and Geneva and ranked first
in a survey by magazine The Economist. In 2007, according to Forbes,
Vancouver had the 6th most overpriced real estate market in the world
and second in North America after Los Angeles. In 2007, 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 major cities in the world.
In 2007, Vancouver was ranked as the 10th cleanest city in the world
by Forbes. In October 2008, the City of Vancouver was named one of
"Canada's Top 100 Employers" by Mediacorp Canada Inc., and was
featured in Maclean's newsmagazine. |
