Oakridge (Vancouver)

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Location of Oakridge in Vancouver.

Oakridge is a neighbourhood in the City of Vancouver that encompasses a thriving multicultural residential and commercial area in the middle of the region, between a number of busy streets and central to all of the features of greater Vancouver. It had a population of 11,795 in 2001, 50 percent of which claimed Chinese as their mother tongue [1].

1 Geography
2 History
3 Features
4 References

[edit] Geography

Oakridge is generally considered as a rectangular section of Vancouver that is bordered by the major thoroughfare Granville Street on the west and the busy multicultural route of Main Street on the east. West 41st Avenue marks the north border, with West 57th Avenue as the southern edge of the neighbourhood. Oak Street and Cambie Street, both among Vancouver's busiest roads, also run north-south through Oakridge, making for plenty of traffic during morning and evening rush hours. In total, Oakridge encompasses 401 hectares.

[edit] History

The area that makes up Oakridge was one of the last parts of Vancouver to be left in its natural state, with the exception of a golf course built near West 49th and Cambie in 1926 and some institutional construction including hospitals and boarding schools prior to World War II.

It was after the war that development began to expand into the wooded areas of Oakridge. The city's Jewish community moved south along Oak Street in the post-war years (the Jewish Community Centre was built at the intersection of West 41st and Oak), and the Canadian Pacific Railway opened its lands in the area to development that erupted in the 1950s. Much of the area was built with single-family homes, and the Oakridge Centre shopping mall, constructed in 1959 at West 41st and Cambie, provided a centrepoint for the residential boom.

Because of its later development, Oakridge is perhaps the least historically unique part of Vancouver. It is dominated by bungalow homes constructed in the 1950s and 1960s, though more multi-family residences are being built in the area.

[edit] Features

As a relatively young community, Oakridge is constantly evolving and growing in terms of its features and makeup. The Oakridge Centre mall - Vancouver's first shopping centre - is perhaps the largest draw bringing people into the neighbourhood. Langara College, which delivers a number of educational services to more than 23,000 students, is also located in Oakridge on West 49th east of Cambie.

Oakridge will grow even more with the construction of the Canada Line along Cambie Street, scheduled to be completed in November 2009. Two stations, Oakridge-41st Avenue Station and Langara-49th Avenue Station, will serve the neighbourhood, with a possible future station at 57th Avenue.

The city is conducting a "master planning" process for the Oakridge Centre area, potentially increasing retail, residential, commercial, office and community uses on the site.