University of British Columbia Vancouver

• 1. Introduction

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  UBC Vancouver sits at the western tip of the Point Grey Peninsula, and nearly 55,000 students study across its grounds. Its 402 hectares are not part of any municipality. The campus occupies an unincorporated area within Metro Vancouver. The only thing separating it from the City of Vancouver is a stretch of land called the University Endowment Lands. That arrangement raises questions most campuses never face. Who governs the place, who plans its streets, and who supplies the services a city would otherwise provide? The answers reveal a campus that has grown into something far closer to a small city than a cluster of lecture halls.

• 2. Governing Without a Mayor

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  The UBC Board of Governors holds the campus lands in fee simple, meaning the board owns them outright. That ownership allows it to perform many of the functions a municipal council would otherwise handle. The University Act empowers the board to manage university property and buildings, set traffic and parking rules, and enforce those rules through fines. Uniquely among British Columbia universities, the UBC board also holds authority to adopt a full land-use plan for the campus lands. In July 2024, the board used that authority to adopt Campus Vision 2050, the latest plan for the Point Grey campus. That plan is subject to review by the Minister of Higher Education. Day-to-day, most of those quasi-municipal powers are delegated to UBC Campus and Community Planning, a division within the external relations office.

  For Metro Vancouver Board of Directors representation, UBC Vancouver belongs to Electoral Area A, and Jen McCutcheon is the current director. At the provincial level, the Vancouver-Point Grey riding covers the campus; David Eby holds that seat in the Legislative Assembly. At the federal level, Wade Grant represents the Vancouver Quadra riding, which includes UBC Vancouver. The roads encircling the campus, meanwhile, fall under a different jurisdiction entirely.

• 3. Getting Around

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  Main Mall and University Boulevard run through the campus as largely pedestrian streets, limiting the number of through-roads available to drivers. Several arterial roads ring the campus and connect it to the surrounding area. These include NW and SW Marine Drive, Chancellor Boulevard, University Boulevard, and 16th Avenue. The Ministry of Transportation and Transit owns and maintains them as part of the provincial highway system.

  The UBC Exchange serves as a major bus terminus, connecting the campus to the regional transit network operated by TransLink. Two of the busiest routes in the region stop there: the 99 B-Line toward Broadway and the R4 RapidBus toward 41st Avenue. Both link to the SkyTrain network. A further set of routes also calls at the campus, including the 4, 9, 14, 25, 33, 44, 68, 84, and N17. Students and faculty can purchase a U-Pass BC, a discounted transit pass designed to reduce commuting costs. Long-term plans from TransLink and the provincial government would extend SkyTrain to UBC Vancouver, replacing the 99 B-Line, though those plans remain unfunded.

• 4. A Community on Campus

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  As of the 2021 census, 15,103 people live within the UBC Vancouver campus boundaries. Between 2016 and 2021, the resident population grew by 2,247, driven by on-campus housing developed by UBC alongside private builders. Five private residential neighbourhoods now occupy land within the campus: Chancellor Place, East Campus, Hampton Place, Hawthorn Place, and Wesbrook Place.

  Place Vanier, Totem Park, and Orchard Commons serve first-year students exclusively. Returning students use Ritsumeikan-UBC House and Walter Gage. Acadia Park, Green College, St. John's College, Brock Commons Tallwood House, and Marine Drive are among the upper-year and graduate housing options. One bears the name tə šxʷhəleləm̓s tə k̓ʷaƛ̓kʷəʔaʔɬ, translated as The Houses of the Ones Belonging to the Saltwater. Iona House serves both students with families and visiting scholars, whose housing needs differ considerably from those of first-year arrivals.

• 5. Learning and the Arts

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  Peter A. Allard School of Law was founded in 1945. It carries its current name following a $30-million donation from an alumnus, a change made in 2015. Its curriculum places particular emphasis on Indigenous law, environmental law, and business law.

  The AMS Student Nest is owned and operated by the Alma Mater Society of the University of British Columbia. It houses most of the student clubs on campus. Food services, a bar, a pub, a cinema, a salon, two convenience stores, and an RBC Bank branch are also inside.

  The Museum of Anthropology at UBC, the Beaty Biodiversity Museum, and the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery each have a presence on campus. All three draw visitors from beyond the student population. The Frederic Wood Theatre and the Chan Centre serve as the campus's main performance venues. The Chan Centre has also served as a filming location on multiple occasions, pointing toward a broader screen industry presence across the campus.

• 6. Screen Presence

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  Buchanan Tower appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. For The Exorcism of Emily Rose, the campus served multiple roles. The MacMillan Building became the courthouse, the Kenny Building the dormitory, and the Buchanan Building also appeared. The Koerner Library area served as a location for 88 Minutes.

  In The Butterfly Effect, Room 100 of the UBC Geography Building became the lecture hall. The Koerner Library area also appeared in that production. The main mall featured in the same film. Thunderbird Stadium served as the soccer stadium in She's the Man. The General Services Administration Building hosted the hostage scenes in Taken. Main Mall appeared in Wind Chill. The Koerner and Main Libraries at UBC provided exterior locations for Smallville.

  In Battlestar Galactica, the Rose Garden and Chan Centre exterior became the fictional Cloud Nine. The Chan Centre appeared in The 4400 as the 4400 Center, and also featured in Antitrust. Fringe used the Flagpole Plaza, the Chan Centre interior and exterior, and the Macleod and Brimacombe building exteriors. MacGyver used various campus exteriors. Try Seventeen used the Chan Centre for student orientation scenes, one of the more campus-specific roles in the list of productions.

• 7. The Olympic Arena

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  War Memorial Gym, Thunderbird Stadium, and the UBC Aquatic Centre are among the campus venues where the UBC Thunderbirds compete. The Student Recreation Centre, known as the REC, serves as the home for intramural sports.

  Demolition of the original Thunderbird Winter Sports Centre began in April 2006, in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. The replacement, named the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre, opened on the 7th of July 2008. It houses three ice rinks. The main rink can seat 6,800 spectators, leaving UBC Vancouver with one of the larger university-based arenas in the region.