How Metro Vancouver was Laid Out around Gunter's Chain

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How was Metro Vancouver laid out? The urban planning of the Fraser Valley suburbs and Lower Mainland of British Columbia is unlike older cities in the world in that we know who made the decisions and why. Look at the maps of these cities. The straight and perpendicular lines at times defied natural features.

This video provides insights into why our homes, buildings, blocks and neighbourhoods are the dimensions they are and why when we fly over much of the Fraser Valley and western Canada we see a lot of squares.

Under Queen Elizabeth I a priest named Edmund Gunter developed the measures that now underpin the towns and cities of British Columbia. Colonel Richard Moody laid out the skeleton of Metro Vancouver which are now as immutable as any geologic formation. We live within the constraints of their decisions.

The two standards used were 66 foot Gunter's Chain and the 100 foot Ramsden's Chain(or Engineer's Chain). Jesse Ramsden in 1784 under King George III created his chain for the Royal Engineers. This video explains the size of our blocks and streets and why North Road and Boundary Road are where they are.

This video will be helpful for citizens, tourists, visitors, wanting to understand how the region developed like the urban planning for Burnaby, Richmond, Surrey, Delta, Coquitlam, North Vancouver, Maple Ridge, Aldergrove, Abbotsford, etc.

Kumtuks is a Vancouver vlog that shares knowledge and explores new narratives. Some quotes and descriptors have been adjusted for clarity and brevity. Please subscribe if you would like to be notified of new videos. If you would like to receive additional commentary and notices and support the creation of more videos like this   / kumtuks  .

Sam Sullivan is a Member of the Order of Canada, a former Mayor of Vancouver and Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.

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