Oakridge is a neighbourhood in the City of Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

 with a multicultural residential and commercial area. It had a population of 11,795 in 2001, 50 percent of which claimed Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

 as their mother tongue.

Geography

Oakridge is generally considered as a rectangular section of Vancouver that is bordered by the major thoroughfare Granville Street

Granville Street

Granville Street is a major street in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and part of Highway 99.-Location:Granville Street runs generally north-south through the centre of Vancouver, passing through several neighbourhoods and commercial areas, differing appreciably in their land value and the...

 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

Cambie Street

Cambie Street is a street in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is named for Henry John Cambie, chief surveyor of the Canadian Pacific Railway's western division ....

, 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.

History

The Oakridge area was one of the last parts of Vancouver to be left in its natural state, with the exception of a golf course

Golf course

A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...

 built near West 49th and Cambie in 1926 and some institutional construction including hospitals and boarding school

Boarding school

A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...

s prior to World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

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

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

 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 historic part of Vancouver. It was dominated by bungalow

Bungalow

A bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many of these definitions include being detached, low-rise , and the use of verandahs...

 homes constructed in the 1950s and 1960s, however in the last 10 years many of these smaller houses have been torn town, and have been replaced by larger multi-level residences.

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

Langara College

Langara College is a public degree-granting college in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada which serves approximately 20,000 students annually through its university, career, and continuing studies programs...

, 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 has expanded even more with the construction of the Canada Line

Canada Line

Canada Line is a rapid transit line in the Metro Vancouver region of British Columbia, Canada. Opened in August 2009, it is the third line in TransLink's SkyTrain metro network, servicing Vancouver, Richmond, and the Vancouver International Airport...

 along Cambie Street, which was completed in August 2009. Two stations, Oakridge – 41st Avenue Station and Langara – 49th Avenue Station

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.