Community Information: Richmond

Richmond lies on a series of islands at the estuary of the Fraser River, immediately south of Vancouver.

The convenient location, availability of jobs, new residential developments accompanied by quality services, and the average rainfall that is 30% less than Vancouver's, still attract new residents. Detailed demographic information is available on the BC Stats Web site .

Housing and Zoning

The Official Community Plan encourages a diversity of housing forms at a range of different prices in order to accommodate all ages, income ranges, and family structures. For details on house prices see our Market Tracker.

A significant portion of the new development is multi-family housing. High-density multi-family developments are concentrated around the city centre.

For more information on housing and zoning visit the City of Richmond Web Site's Planning & Transportation pages.

Shopping, Dining and Entertainment

Richmond is known as a shopping mecca. It has six large shopping centres, several major furniture warehouses, and the well-known Richmond Auto Mall. Three specialty shopping centres are specializing in upscale Asian goods.

Various entertainment facilities are concentrated within and around the shopping centres. A multitude of restaurants and pubs throughout the city offer just about any type of cuisine in any type of setting.

Cultural facilities include libraries, a performing arts theatre, art gallery, museums and heritage sites.

Parks and Recreation

Richmond has over 1200 acres of park land and a variety of quality amenities, including two indoor and two outdoor aquatic centres, arenas, fitness clubs, community centres, tennis courts, playgrounds, picnic areas, golf courses, lacrosse boxes, running tracks and playing fields.

You can walk or cycle on a system of dyke trails, watch birds in the natural wetlands, pick fresh berries from the farms, ramble through the historic village of Steveston or through the gardens and ponds surrounding the heritage Minoru Chapel in Minoru Park.

Richmond is a perfect place for fishermen. It has three public piers and a boat launch site, all with picnic areas.

Transportation

Richmond City centre is a twenty-minute drive from Vancouver's downtown business core, the Canada/U.S. border, and the B.C. Ferry terminal. The Vancouver International Airport, located on Sea Island, is 10 minutes from downtown Richmond.

Richmond is connected to neighboring cities by a series of bridges and a tunnel. There are two major freeways and two railway lines traversing the city. The area is served by municipal and national bus lines. The City is in the process of introducing rapid bus service between the Richmond City Centre and Vancouver downtown.

Education

• A list of public schools in Richmond and information on special programs are available at the School District #38 Web site .
• For information about independent schools, visit Federation of Independent School Associations' Web site.
• For school rankings, visit the B.C. Ministry of Education site or contact the Richmond School District for detailed school profiles.
• One of the four campuses of the Kwantlen University College is located in Richmond. Information on programs is available at.

Other Web Sites

• City of Richmond
• Vancouver Magazine