The Lower Mainland is a fast growing metropolitan region. The estimated figures from Stats Canada puts the Greater Vancouver population at over 2 million people. Vancouver is the third largest city in Canada and like many other cities throuhgout the country, it is continuing to grow. Unlike many other cities in Canada, or within North America, the landscape of the Lower Mainland is very diverse. The city is surrounded by mountains. It is one of the few places in the world to have many beaches yet still be less than an hour away from ski slopes. In some areas, there is very dense residential buildup. In other areas there is rich farm land. There is also areas within the city in which there is no development and nothing but forested or open space.

The purpose of this project is to give a brief ensight into where it is possible to develope residential type housing. This type of housing includes single family dwellings, multi-family dwellings, townhouses, condominiums, as well as low-rise and high-rise apartments. These buildings can be found either in the heart of Vancouver or way off in the suburbs. As Vancouver continues to grow, the need for new and/or additional housing will stay in demand. However, where this development should be considered is a rather large and extensive question. I do not have the knowledge nor the expertise to say "This part of Vancouver is the prime location for development," or "The most economical place to build a large-scale townhouse complex is in Langley." However, I have some ideas into what sort of criteria should be looked into in order to pick a location for any type of a new residential developement.

In itself, this project will unlikely have any major implications for anyone other then myself. This project is a way of determining a suitable place to build based on some of the criteria I believe are important. It is undoubtedly safe to assume that actual engineers and developers are and have looked into the few areas in which I found most suitable based in my criteria and my analysis. It is also safe to assume that these locations will not necessarily be all that accurate, nor taken into serious consideration due to methodological errors (those will be discussed later). However, it wil be able to give the viewer a better idea of where new residential developements could occur and hopefully my project will give, at the very least, more ensight to possible future developments.