Greater Vancouver Regional District, British Columbia
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The Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) is a sub-provincial administrative district within the 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.
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Geography
The Greater Vancouver Regional District occupies the southwest corner of mainland British Columbia. It comprises the western half of the Lower Mainland, (the lower Fraser Valley), the eastern half being occupied by the Fraser Valley Regional District, which includes the communities of Abbotsford, Chilliwack, and Mission. To the north lie the Coast Mountains and the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, including the communities of Squamish and Whistler. To the west lies Georgia Strait, and to the south lies Whatcom County in Washington State.
According to the 2001 census, the metropolitan area is home to 1,986,965 people, about half of the population of British Columbia. Recent estimates (2003) have placed the population at 2.5 million, representing an enormous estimated growth since the last census occurred.
Municipalities
The Regional District consists of 21 incorporated municipalities and one unincorporated area. The 21 municipalities are:
- Village of Anmore [1] (http://www.anmore.com) - 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)
- District of Delta - Pop. 96,950 (2001)
- City of Langley [2] (http://www.city.langley.bc.ca)- Pop. 23,643 (2001)
- District (Township) of Langley - Pop. 86,896 (2001)
- Village of Lions Bay [3] (http://www.lionsbay.citymax.com)- 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. 3,091 (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, which comprises all unincorporated land within the Regional District boundaries, including the University of British Columbia Endowment Lands and Fraser River islands of Douglas Island and Barnston Island. 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.
External links
- Official Site - http://www.gvrd.bc.ca/
- GVRD Regional Parks - http://www.gvrd.bc.ca/parks
- TransLink - http://www.translink.bc.ca
| Regions and Regional Districts of British Columbia | 
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BC Regions: Nechako | North Coast | Peace River | Cariboo | Lower Mainland | Vancouver Island/Sunshine Coast | Okanagan | Thompson Nicola | Kootenays | ||||
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BC Regional Districts: Alberni-Clayoquot | Bulkley-Nechako | Capital | Cariboo | Central Coast | Central Kootenay | Central Okanagan | Columbia-Shuswap | Comox-Strathcona | Cowichan Valley | East Kootenay | Fraser Valley | Fraser-Fort George | Greater Vancouver | Kitimat-Stikine | Kootenay Boundary | Mount Waddington | Nanaimo | North Okanagan | Northern Rockies | Okanagan-Similkameen | Peace River | Powell River | Skeena-Queen Charlotte | Squamish-Lillooet | Stikine | Sunshine Coast | Thompson-Nicola | ||||