Burnaby is the geographic centre of the Greater Vancouver Regional
District. It's bordered by Vancouver to the west, Burrard Inlet
to the north, New Westminster and Coquitlam to the east, and the
Fraser River to the south.
Just 12 kilometers east of downtown Vancouver, Burnaby grew from
farms and forests to Vancouver dormintory town to major regional
centre in its own right. Today the city is a thriving residential
area containing major commercial, industrial, and educational activities.
Burnaby's geography is varied. It's dynamic urban development has
occurred around two large fresh-water lakes, forested parkland and
hills, rivers and streams, and Pacific shoreline along the Burrard
Inlet. Burnaby also includes an agricultural district that produces
market garden crops.
One big advantage of Burnaby is its excellent road connections to
the rest of the Greater Vancouver Regional District. Both the Millenium
and Expo lines of the SkyTrain rapid transit system run through
it. SkyTrain links Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Surrey and
the south east corner of Coquitlam. Future plans include extending
the Millenium line through Port Moody to Coquitlam Centre.
Burnaby supports three large malls, each keys to the regional urban town centers built
up around them, Metropolis at Metrotown, Brentwood Centre and Lougheed Mall. Simon Fraser University
and BCIT are both located in Burnaby. Burnaby has also developed into a high tech employment hot bed
including Entertainment Arts, Telus, BC Hydro, PMC Sierra and many smaller but leading edge technology companies.