Visualizing Growth and Building Surrey

I recently came across a unique series by Paul Hillsdon over on the Civic Surrey blog that looks at commercial and residential growth in Surrey over the last twelve years. In his series “Visualizing Growth” you can see how much the city has expanded into its rural areas by way of aerial photos.

Clayton 1998 / 2010

Sullivan 1998 / 2010

Cloverdale 1998 / 2010

Newton 1998 / 2010

Being born and raised in Surrey, I do notice that much more farmland is now covered in townhomes and cul-de-sac developments than I remember from my youth. Even still, these images are only a small glimpse at what is to come.

“Surrey has been designated through Metro Vancouver’s Livable Region Strategic Plan as the next metropolitan core of the region. Over the next 20 years, cities south of the Fraser River will be absorbing close to 70 per cent of the growth in the Metro Vancouver area,” said Surrey Mayor, Dianne Watts [source].

The ambitious “Build Surrey” program will see over $52 million poured into developments over the next two decades. This includes creating, upgrading and improving the City Centre Library, the Newton transit exchange, the Cloverdale Recreation Centre, the South Surrey swimming pool, and over 20 other projects. Residential development is another story as well as accommodating students in BC’s largest school district.

It will certainly be interesting to see how the city progresses throughout my lifetime and how it will affect the lives of my young my niece and nephews. In the meantime I recommend subscribing to Paul’s blog feed to see charts, imagery, and plans for what’s to come.