Moving to Richmond: A Guide to Its Neighbourhoods

Richmond is an island city at the mouth of the Fraser River, with a high-rise centre on the Canada Line, a historic fishing village in Steveston and farmland on more than a third of its land. Here is a guide to its neighbourhoods, how to get around, and what living on the delta means when you buy.

The short version

Richmond's neighbourhoods

Richmond is made up of Sea Island, most of Lulu Island and 15 smaller islands where the Fraser River meets the Salish Sea. It was incorporated in 1879 and became a city in 1990. In the 2021 Census, 42% of its homes were apartments, 30% were single-detached houses and 20% were row houses or townhouses. The City divides Richmond into planning areas, and the 2021 Census counts for each show where people live:

• City Centre. Home to 62,855 people in 2021, about 30% of the city, and it added more residents from 2016 to 2021 than any other area. Its plan groups it into villages around the Bridgeport, Capstan, Aberdeen, Lansdowne and Brighouse stations, plus Oval Village, and plans its densest buildings within 800 metres of the Capstan, Lansdowne and Brighouse stations.
• Steveston. 25,220 residents, around a village the City describes as a nationally recognized historic fishing community. The Gulf of Georgia Cannery and Britannia Shipyards are both national historic sites.
• Suburban neighbourhoods. Broadmoor (23,050), Blundell (18,065), Seafair (16,070), Thompson, including Terra Nova (14,955), West Cambie (12,255), Shellmont, including Ironwood (11,420), and East Cambie (10,780). These are mostly established neighbourhoods of houses, duplexes and townhouses around car-oriented shopping centres, which the City's plan wants to turn into walkable villages. House lots make up 54% of Richmond's residential land.
• Hamilton. At the eastern end of the city along Highway 91, next to New Westminster's Queensborough. It had 5,260 residents in 2021, and its area plan expects about 12,000 at build-out, with a village centre along Gilley Road of up to four storeys.
• East Richmond. Its McLennan sub-area is entirely in the Agricultural Land Reserve, with many lots growing blueberries in peat soils, and cranberries are Richmond's main crop overall, on about a third of its crop area. East Richmond and the Fraser Lands had 4,595 residents, and Gilmore 450.
• Sea Island. Home to YVR, which moved here in 1931, and to Burkeville, a small neighbourhood on the island's east side. The Sea Island planning area had 820 residents in 2021.

Getting around

• The Canada Line. Open since August 2009. The line splits at Bridgeport: the Richmond-Brighouse branch continues to Capstan, Aberdeen, Lansdowne and Richmond-Brighouse, and the airport branch to Templeton, Sea Island Centre and YVR-Airport. Capstan, the newest, opened on December 20, 2024. At rush hour, trains run about every 6 minutes on each branch, and the City says the trip from Richmond to Waterfront Station takes about 25 minutes.
• Buses. Bridgeport Station is also a hub for buses to South Delta, the Tsawwassen ferry terminal, South Surrey and White Rock.
• Roads and the tunnel. Road bridges such as the Oak Street, Knight Street and Arthur Laing link Richmond with the rest of Metro Vancouver, Highway 91 leads to the Alex Fraser Bridge and North Delta, and Highway 99 runs south through the George Massey Tunnel to Delta. The Province's Fraser River Tunnel Project began early works in January 2026 on its replacement, a toll-free, eight-lane immersed-tube tunnel due for completion in September 2031.

Living near the airport

Aircraft noise shapes planning in parts of Richmond. The City's plan directs new housing away from the Bridgeport and Aberdeen stations, which it says are subject to high aircraft noise, and keeps that land for offices, shops and hotels. Its Aircraft Noise Sensitive Development policy maps the city into areas where new homes are not allowed, allowed only with noise mitigation, or allowed without extra requirements.

For a newer condo or townhouse in a noise policy area, the City generally required an acoustic report showing the units meet CMHC indoor noise standards, and a noise indemnity covenant registered on the title of each unit. Your lawyer or notary will see any covenant in the title search.

Living on the delta

• Dikes and pumps. Richmond sits an average of about one metre above sea level. The City's flood protection system has 49 km of dikes and 39 drainage pump stations, and is designed for a flood with a 0.2% chance in any year. The City plans to raise the dikes from an elevation of 3.5 metres to 4.7 metres.
• Floodplain rules. Under the City's floodplain bylaw, all of Richmond is designated floodplain, and new living space generally has to be built at or above a set flood construction level. Renovations, small additions and garages can be exempt. If you plan to rebuild or add on, ask the City which level applies.
• Soils. Soil conditions vary across Richmond, and lots with peat soils need a geotechnical report and an engineer's foundation design for a new house.
• Farmland. About 4,993 hectares, or 39% of the city, is in the Agricultural Land Reserve. Lots in the reserve are generally limited to one home. A suite inside it or one small additional residence is allowed only where City zoning permits, and anything more needs Agricultural Land Commission approval.

For any Richmond home, ask your insurer about overland flood coverage.

Schools, health care and parks

The Richmond School District, School District 38, runs 10 secondary schools and close to 40 elementary schools. Elementary programs include Montessori and French Immersion, which starts in Kindergarten or Grade 1, or in Grade 6 for Late French Immersion. At the secondary level there are French Immersion, Advanced Placement, career programs and the International Baccalaureate Diploma at Richmond Secondary, an IB World School since 1984. Students normally attend the catchment school for their address, which the district's School Locator shows.

Richmond Hospital, run by Vancouver Coastal Health on Westminster Highway, is adding a nine-floor acute care tower, the Yurkovich Family Pavilion, with a bigger emergency department, more operating rooms and an intensive care unit.

The City has about 140 parks on 871 hectares. Its signature parks include Garry Point Park, Terra Nova Rural Park, Minoru Park, the Middle Arm Waterfront Greenway and Richmond Nature Park, with more than 200 acres of bog forest, and trails such as the West Dyke and South Dyke run along the dikes. Minoru Centre for Active Living has two lap pools and a lazy river.

How Richmond is growing

• The updated plan. In February 2026, Council adopted an update to the Official Community Plan. It projects about 311,000 residents by 2050, aims for half of new homes to be built in City Centre, and sorts the rest of the city into types such as Local Villages around shopping centres, with low-rise apartments and townhouses, and Arterial Connectors along main roads.
• Around transit. In June 2024, the City designated transit-oriented areas around the Bridgeport, Capstan, Aberdeen, Lansdowne and Brighouse stations. Federal airport zoning height limits still take priority over the Province's minimum heights there.
• More homes per lot. Also in June 2024, the City rezoned almost 27,000 single-family and duplex lots to allow three or four units, or six on larger lots near frequent bus service. The Province gave the City until December 30, 2030 to apply the rules in one area of Steveston, bounded by Steveston Highway, No. 1 Road, Chatham Street and 7th Avenue, while its sewers are replaced. I explain the rules in More Homes per Lot.

Before you buy

• Aircraft noise. Check the City's noise policy map for the address, and look for a noise covenant on title.
• Building plans. If you want to rebuild or add units, ask the City about the flood construction level, whether the lot needs a geotechnical report and, on farmland, what the Agricultural Land Reserve allows.
• Heritage rules. Steveston Village is a heritage conservation area, where building, adding on or changing a building's exterior needs a heritage alteration permit, and buildings on Moncton Street are limited to two storeys.
• Strata homes. In 2021, 43% of Richmond's homes were condominiums, so read the strata documents before you remove subjects.

Questions buyers often ask me

How many people live in Richmond?

The 2021 Census counted 209,937 people, up 5.9% from 2016. About 30% of them lived in City Centre, and the City's updated plan projects about 311,000 residents by 2050.

Is all of Richmond in a floodplain?

Yes. The City's bylaw designates all of Richmond as floodplain. It is protected by 49 km of dikes and 39 drainage pump stations, and new living space generally has to be built at or above a set flood construction level.

Which areas get the most aircraft noise?

In City Centre, the City's plan says the areas around Bridgeport and Aberdeen stations are subject to high aircraft noise, and directs new housing away from them. Check the City's noise policy map for any address, and look for a noise covenant on title.

How do I find my catchment school in Richmond?

Use the Richmond School District's School Locator. Programs such as French Immersion have their own boundaries, shown on the district's program map.

Can I add homes to a Richmond lot?

On most single-family and duplex lots, yes: since June 2024, the zoning allows three or four units, or six on larger lots near frequent bus service. Land in the Agricultural Land Reserve is generally limited to one home.

Browse homes for sale in Richmond, read the strata documents to read before buying a condo, or read about its neighbour in Moving to New Westminster.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Population and housing figures are from the 2021 Census and the City of Richmond, and other details are from the City, TransLink, the Province, Vancouver Coastal Health, Parks Canada and the Richmond School District at the time of writing. For the City's overview of its dikes and drainage, see Flood Protection.