Greater Vancouver Regional District, British Columbia

The Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) is a sub-provincial administrative district within the Canadian province of British Columbia, Canada. It comprises the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Vancouver, and is essentially synonymous with Greater Vancouver or the Vancouver Metropolitan Area. The seat is in Burnaby.

Geography

The Greater Vancouver Regional District occupies the southwest corner of mainland British Columbia. It comprises the western half of the Lower Mainland.

According to the 2001 census, 2,134,300 people live in the metropolitan area, about half of the population of British Columbia. GVRD estimates (2005) have placed the population at 2,155,880 million, representing meagre growth since the last censusThirteen of the province's thirty most populous municipalities are located in the GVRD [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/standard/popdwell/Table-CSD-P.cfm?PR=59&T=1&SR=1&S=1&O=A

Municipalities

The Regional District consists of 21 incorporated municipalities and one unincorporated area. The 21 municipalities are:

Village of Anmore - Pop. 1,344 (2001)
Village of Belcarra - Pop. 682 (2001)
District of Bowen Island - Pop. 2,957(2001)
City of Burnaby - Pop. 193,954 (2001)
City of Coquitlam - Pop. 112,890 (2001)
Corporation of Delta - Pop. 96,950 (2001)
City of Langley Pop. 23,643 (2001)
District (Township) of Langley - Pop. 86,896 (2001)
Village of Lions Bay - Pop. 1,379 (2001)
District of Maple Ridge - Pop. 63,169 (2001)
City of New Westminster - Pop. 54,656 (2001)
City of North Vancouver - Pop. 44,303 (2001)
District of North Vancouver - Pop. 82,310 (2001)
District of Pitt Meadows - Pop. 14,670 (2001)
City of Port Coquitlam - Pop. 51,257 (2001)
City of Port Moody - Pop. 30,091 (2001)
City of Richmond - Pop. 164,345 (2001)
City of Surrey - Pop. 347,825 (2001)
City of Vancouver - Pop. 545,671 (2001)
District of West Vancouver - Pop. 41,421 (2001)
City of White Rock - Pop. 18,250 (2001)

The unincorporated Greater Vancouver Regional District Electoral Area A comprises all unincorporated land within the Regional District boundaries, including the University of British Columbia Endowment Lands (see University Endowment Lands) and Barnston Island in the Fraser River. The population of Electoral district A is 7,096 (2001).

There are also a number of Indian reserves within the geographical area that are not subject to governance by the municipalities or the Regional District with a population of 6,543 (2001).

Administrative Role

The principal function of the Greater Vancouver Regional District is to administer resources and services which are common across the metropolitan area. These include community planning, water, sewage, drainage, housing, transportation, air quality, and parks.

For example, GVRD Regional Parks oversees the development and maintenance of nineteen regional parks, as well as various nature reserver and greenways. (The regional parks are distinct from municipal parks in that they are typically more "wild" and represent unique geographical zones within the region, such as bogs and mature rainforests.)

The Greater Vancouver Regional District also oversees TransLink, which administers public transportation and major bridges and highways throughout the region. TransLink also runs the AirCare program, which primarily aims to improve air quality by reducing harmful emissions from automobiles. In the period 1992 to 2002, this program is credited with reducing the air emissions in the urban area by thirty-five percent.

One current initiative of the GVRD is the Ashcroft, British Columbia, Ranch Mega-Landfill Proposal.

Demographics

Ethnic origin

European: 1,200,010 or 63.5%
Chinese: 332,560 or 17.6%
Other Asian: 161,145 or 8.5%
Filipino: 54,280 or 2.8%
mixed ethnicity: 44,680 or 2.3%

(based on single responses)

Visible minority status

More than a third -- 36.9% -- of Greater Vancouver residents are members of a visible minority according to the 2001 Census. The largest visible minority groups are:

Chinese: 17.4%
South Asian (Indo-Canadian): 8.4%
Filipino: 2.9%
West Asian (Iranian, Afghani): 1.1%
Latin American: 1.0%
Black: 0.9%
Multiple response (mixed-race): 0.6%

Aboriginals, which make up 1.9% of Greater Vancouver's population, are not officially considered a visible minority group by Statistics Canada.^*

External links

Official Site - http://www.gvrd.bc.ca/
GVRD Regional Parks - http://www.gvrd.bc.ca/parks
TransLink - http://www.translink.bc.ca
Steveston Community Portal - http://www.stevestonivillage.com

Metropolitan areas of Canada | Greater Vancouver Regional District | Vancouver

Greater Vancouver | バンクーバー広域行政体 | Distrito Regional do Grande Vancouver