# University of British Columbia Vancouver

University of British Columbia Vancouver (UBC Vancouver), officially known as the Point Grey campus lands, is an unincorporated area that contains the main campus of the University of British Columbia in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located at the western tip of the Point Grey Peninsula, UBC Vancouver is bordered only by the University Endowment Lands, which separate the campus from the City of Vancouver.
The campus is home to close to 55,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The 402-hectare (993-acre) campus is also home to a numerous residential housing developments that were built by UBC in conjunction with private developers. As it is not part of a municipality, most services at UBC Vancouver are provided by the University of British Columbia itself, whose board of governors is empowered to adopt a land-use plan for the campus lands.

## Housing
### Private residential neighbourhoods

The following residential neighbourhoods are situated on UBC's campus:
* Chancellor Place
* East Campus
* Hampton Place
* Hawthorn Place
* Wesbrook Place

### Student housing

There are numerous student housing residences throughout UBC's campus. These residences serve varying demographics. For example, some serve just first-year students, while others serve students with families and visiting scholars.

#### First-year housing

* Place Vanier
* Totem Park
* Orchard Commons

#### New and returning student housing

* Ritsumeikan–UBC House
* Walter Gage

#### Upper-year and graduate housing

* Fairview Crescent
* Marine Drive
* Iona House
* Brock Commons Tallwood House
* Fraser Hall
* Ponderosa Commons
* Thunderbird
* Acadia Park
* Green College
* St. John's College
* Exchange
* tə šxʷhəleləm̓s tə k̓ʷaƛ̓kʷəʔaʔɬ (The Houses of the Ones Belonging to the Saltwater)

## Demographics

As of the 2021 census, UBC Vancouver has a population of 15,103. Between 2016 and 2021, UBC Vancouver's population grew by 2,247 due to the expansion of on-campus residential development.

## Government and politics

As an unincorporated area, UBC Vancouver has no mayor or council. Instead, the lands are owned in fee simple by the UBC Board of Governors, who perform many of the functions of a municipal government. Like at all other universities in British Columbia, the board is empowered by the University Act to make rules on the management and control of university property and buildings, make traffic and parking rules, and enforce its rules by fines. Uniquely for UBC Vancouver, the board is also vested with the authority to adopt a land use plan for the campus lands, subject to review by the Minister of Higher Education. An updated land use plan, named Campus Vision 2050, was adopted by UBC for the Point Grey campus lands in July 2024. The UBC board's quasi-municipal powers are largely delegated to UBC Campus and Community Planning, a division of the university's vice-president of external relations.
For the purposes of representation on the Metro Vancouver Board of Directors, UBC Vancouver is part of Electoral Area A. The current Electoral Area A director is Jen McCutcheon.
For provincial elections, UBC Vancouver falls under the Vancouver-Point Grey electoral riding. The current Member of the Legislative Assembly is David Eby.
For federal elections, UBC Vancouver is in the Vancouver Quadra electoral riding. The seat is held by Joyce Murray.

## Transportation

The internal campus street grid is mostly organized as a number of east–west roads intersecting a series of north–south malls. There are few through streets on campus as both Main Mall and University Boulevard are largely pedestrian streets, bisecting the campus in both the east–west and north–south directions. The campus is ringed by a number of arterial roads providing access to the University Endowment Lands and the City of Vancouver. These roads – consisting of NW and SW Marine Drive, Chancellor Boulevard, University Boulevard and 16th Avenue – are owned and maintained by the Ministry of Transportation and Transit as part of the provincial highway system.
The UBC campus is a major destination for the regional public transit system operated by TransLink. The UBC Exchange is a major bus terminus that serves two of the busiest bus routes in the region: the 99 B-Line to Broadway and the R4 RapidBus to 41st Avenue; both routes link to the SkyTrain. Other bus routes to UBC Vancouver include the 4, 9, 14, 25, 33, 44, 68, 84 and N17. An extension of the SkyTrain network to replace the 99 B-Line and connect the UBC campus is part of long-term plans from TransLink and the provincial government but remains unfunded. The U-Pass BC is a universal transit pass that is offered at a discount for students and faculty to offset commuting costs.

## Campus academic facilities
### AMS Student Nest

The Nest is home to most of the student clubs at UBC, as well as UBC Food Services, two convenience stores, an RBC Bank, a salon, both a bar and a pub, a movie theatre, and other student services. It is owned and operated by the Alma Mater Society of the University of British Columbia.

### Peter A. Allard School of Law

The Peter A. Allard School of Law is UBC's faculty of law. Founded in 1945, it was renamed after an alumnus in 2015 after a $30-million donation. The Allard School of Law offers a wide range of courses, especially in Indigenous law, environmental law, and business law.

## Museums and galleries

There are also several museums and performing arts theatres on campus, including the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, the Frederic Wood Theatre, and the Chan Centre.

## Sports and recreation

There are many sports facilities located on the UBC campus. UBC's sports teams are called the UBC Thunderbirds and they play at various locations on campus, including War Memorial Gym, Thunderbird Stadium, UBC Aquatic Centre and Thunderbird Winter Sports Centre. The Student Recreation Centre (REC) is home to intramural sports for students.

### 2010 Winter Olympics

For the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, the Thunderbird Winter Sports Centre was replaced by a newer building, named the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. Demolition of the old arena began in April 2006 and the arena opened on July 7, 2008. The new structure houses three ice rinks, with the main rink accommodating 6,800 spectators.

## Economy
### Film industry

Some notable movies and television shows shot on campus include:
* X-Men Origins: Wolverine: Buchanan Tower
* The Exorcism of Emily Rose: UBC's MacMillan Building as the courthouse, Kenny Building as the dorm and Buchanan Building
* 88 Minutes: UBC's Koerner Library area
* Taken: UBC's General Services Administration Building for hostage scenes
* Try Seventeen: UBC's Chan Centre for student orientation scenes
* She's the Man: UBC's Thunderbird Stadium for soccer stadium scenes
* The Butterfly Effect: Koerner Library area, Room 100 of the UBC Geography Building as the lecture hall, and the main mall.
* Wind Chill: UBC's Main Mall
* The 4400: Chan Centre as "The 4400 Center," University Marketplace
* Antitrust: Chan Centre
* Smallville: Koerner and Main Libraries, for exteriors
* Battlestar Galactica: Rose Garden and Chan Centre exterior for "Cloud Nine"
* MacGyver: Various campus exteriors
* Fringe: Flagpole Plaza, Chan Centre exterior and interior, Macleod and Brimacombe Buildings exterior