 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Downtown Vancouver" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(November 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Downtown Vancouver | |
|---|---|
Neighbourhood ofVancouver | |
 Skyscrapers ofVancouver's Financial District, taken fromHarbour Centre tower | |
 Location of Downtown Vancouver shown in red | |
| Coordinates:49°17′03″N123°07′16″W / 49.28417°N 123.12111°W /49.28417; -123.12111 | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | British Columbia |
| City | Vancouver |
| Communities | List of Communities |
| Area | |
• Total | 3.7 km2 (1.4 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• Total | 62,030[1] |
| • Density | 16,764/km2 (43,420/sq mi) |
| Website | vancouver |
Downtown Vancouver is thecentral business district and thecity centreneighbourhood ofVancouver, Canada, on the northwestern shore of theBurrard Peninsula in theLower Mainland region ofBritish Columbia. It occupies most of the north shore of theFalse Creek inlet, which cuts into the Burrard Peninsula creating theDowntown Peninsula, where theWest End neighbourhood andStanley Park are also located.
Along with West End, Stanley Park and the nearbyDowntown Eastside, Downtown makes upCentral Vancouver, one of the city's three main areas (the others beingEast Side and West Side).
With a disproportionately high amount of residential towers for a central business district in a geographically constrained area, Downtown Vancouver is one of the densest areas in the country.[3]
The Downtown area is officially considered to be bounded byBurrard Inlet to the north,West End to the west,Granville Island/Fairview andMount Pleasant across theFalse Creek to the south, andDowntown Eastside andStrathcona to the east and southeast. Most unofficial sources also includeWest End andStanley Park into Downtown (the so-called "Downtown Peninsula"), but the City of Vancouver officially defines them as separateneighbourhoods.
Besides the readily identifiableoffice towers of thefinancial and central business districts, Downtown Vancouver also includes residential neighbourhoods in the form of high-riseapartments andcondominiums inYaletown andCoal Harbour, and other Downtown neighbourhoods include theGranville Mall andEntertainment District, Downtown South,Gastown,Chinatown andJapantown.
| Panethnic group | 2016[4] | 2006[5] | 2001[6] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | ||||
| European[a] | 31,730 | 53.91% | 24,665 | 57.93% | 16,940 | 61.11% | |||
| East Asian[b] | 13,225 | 22.47% | 9,905 | 23.26% | 6,720 | 24.24% | |||
| Middle Eastern[c] | 4,475 | 7.6% | 2,245 | 5.27% | 640 | 2.31% | |||
| South Asian | 2,610 | 4.43% | 1,130 | 2.65% | 650 | 2.34% | |||
| Southeast Asian[d] | 1,980 | 3.36% | 1,245 | 2.92% | 610 | 2.2% | |||
| Indigenous | 1,430 | 2.43% | 1,380 | 3.24% | 1,150 | 4.15% | |||
| Latin American | 1,585 | 2.69% | 750 | 1.76% | 495 | 1.79% | |||
| African | 655 | 1.11% | 615 | 1.44% | 310 | 1.12% | |||
| Other/Multiracial[e] | 1,160 | 1.97% | 650 | 1.53% | 200 | 0.72% | |||
| Total responses | 58,855 | 94.88% | 42,580 | 98.08% | 27,720 | 99.04% | |||
| Total population | 62,030 | 100% | 43,415 | 100% | 27,990 | 100% | |||
| Note: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses | |||||||||
.jpg)
The downtown area includes most of the remaining historic buildings and many of the larger notable buildings in the region. All but one of Vancouver'stallest buildings are located within Downtown Vancouver, the one being Marine Gateway North located next toMarine Drive station.
There are two major sporting facilities in the downtown core,Rogers Arena (formerly GM Place) andBC Place Stadium. TheNHL'sVancouver Canucks play at Rogers Arena, while theCFL'sBC Lions and theMLS'sVancouver Whitecaps FC use the neighbouring BC Place Stadium. SkyTrain Stadium-Chinatown station provides easy rapid transit access to the district.
The presence of water on three sides limits access to downtown Vancouver. There are four major bridges: theLions Gate Bridge, connecting to theNorth Shore municipalities and theTrans Canada Highway, and theBurrard Street Bridge,Cambie Street Bridge, andGranville Street Bridge, which provide access to the commercial and residential areas south of False Creek.
The historicWaterfront station is the principal transit hub for the downtown core. There are sixsubway stations located in downtown Vancouver running on twoSkyTrain lines: theExpo Line andCanada Line. The Expo Line travels from Waterfront station at the foot of the central harbor and throughDunsmuir Tunnel to the east. The Canada Line travels from Waterfront station and tunnels south underGranville Street andDavie Street, linking downtown to centralRichmond andVancouver International Airport.SeaBus is a passenger-only ferry that connects from Waterfront station to the North Shore in 10–12 minutes. TheWest Coast Express commuter rail system travels from Waterfront station to the eastern suburbs and exurbs. The West Coast Express travels from Waterfront to Moody Centre, Coquitlam Central, Port Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Meadows Station, Port Haney and Mission City as its terminus station[7] Terminals are also available near Waterfront station for float planes and helicopters.
Most north-south Vancouver bus routes serve Downtown Vancouver, in addition to suburban routes from the North Shore andBurnaby. Thebus rapid transit line98 B-Line had eight stops in the downtown core, primarily alongSeymour Street andBurrard Street. This service was replaced on August 17, 2009, by SkyTrain's Canada Line. The95 B-Line started service in December 2016 in conjunction with the opening of theEvergreen Extension, connecting downtown toSimon Fraser University alongHastings Street.
There are two private passenger water taxi operators (False Creek Ferries andThe Aquabus), providing service between several downtown neighbourhoods,False Creek, andGranville Island.
The city is planning to extend thedowntown streetcar from its current route ofGranville Island to the Main Street SkyTrain station, with future plans extending it to Chinatown and then toStanley Park.
