Vancouver

"Vancouver (pronunciado en inglés: Acerca de este sonido [væ'ku:v] (?·i), en español [ba'kue]) es una ciudad de la costa pacífica de Canadá, ubicada en el suroeste de la provincia de Columbia Británica, entre el estrecho de Georgia y las Montañas Costeras. La ciudad fue llamada así en honor del capitán George Vancouver, un explorador inglés. Es parte del área metropolitana del Distrito Regional del Gran Vancouver, el cual, con una población de 2 313 328 habitantes (2011), constituye el área metropolitana más grande del oeste canadiense y la tercera en el país después de Toronto y Montreal. Vancouver en sí mismo cuenta con 603 502 habitantes. El gentilicio utilizado para referirse a los residentes de Vancouver es vancuverita o vancouverense, (en inglés Vancouverite). Vancouver, en los últimos años, siempre ha sido considerada como una de las cinco ciudades con mejor calidad de vida en el mundo. En 2013, obtuvo el puesto 21º entre las ciudades en que es más caro vivir y resultó ser la más cara de Norteamérica. También es una de las ciudades más seguras del mundo, contando con bajísimas tasas de criminalidad. Los Juegos Olímpicos y Paralímpicos de invierno de 2010 se llevaron a cabo en Vancouver y en la cercana localidad de Whistler."

"Vancouver (/vækuvr/, or /vænkuvr/), officially the City of Vancouver, is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada, and the most populous city in the province. The 2011 census recorded 603,502 people in the city, making it the eighth largest Canadian municipality. The Greater Vancouver area of around 2.4 million inhabitants is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country.Vancouver is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities in Canada; 52% of its residents have a first language other than English. Vancouver is classed as a Beta global city. The City of Vancouver encompasses a land area of about 114 square km, giving it a population density of about 5,249 people per square km (13,590 per square mi). Vancouver is the most densely populated Canadian municipality with over 250,000 residents, and the fourth most densely populated such city in North America behind New York City, San Francisco,and Mexico City. The original settlement, named Gastown, grew up on clearcuts on the west edge of the Hastings Mill logging sawmill's property, where a makeshift tavern had been set up on a plank between two stumps and the proprietor, Gassy Jack, persuaded the curious millworkers to build him a tavern, on 1 July 1867. From that first enterprise, other stores and some hotels quickly appeared along the waterfront to the west. Gastown became formally laid out as a registered townsite dubbed Granville, B.I. ("B.I" standing for "Burrard Inlet"). As part of the land and political deal whereby the area of the townsite was made the railhead of the CPR, it was renamed "Vancouver" and incorporated shortly thereafter as a city, in 1886. By 1887, the transcontinental railway was extended to the city to take advantage of its large natural seaport, which soon became a vital link in a trade route between the Orient, Eastern Canada, and Europe.As of 2014, Port Metro Vancouver is the third largest port by tonnage in the Americas (displacing New York), 27th in the world, the busiest and largest in Canada, and the most diversified port in North America.While forestry remains its largest industry, Vancouver is well known as an urban centre surrounded by nature, making tourism its second-largest industry.Major film production studios in Vancouver and Burnaby have turned Greater Vancouver and nearby areas into one of the largest film production centres in North America,earning it the film industry nickname, Hollywood North. Vancouver is consistently named as one of the top five worldwide cities for livability and quality of life,and the Economist Intelligence Unit acknowledged it as the first city to rank among the top-ten of the world's most liveable citiesfor five consecutive years.Vancouver has hosted many international conferences and events, including the 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games, UN Habitat I, Expo 86, the World Police and Fire Games in 1989 and 2009; and the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics which were held in Vancouver and Whistler, a resort community 125 km (78 mi) north of the city. In 2014, following thirty years in California, the annual TED conference made Vancouver its indefinite home. Several matches of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup were played in Vancouver, including the final at BC Place Stadium."