The Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES) is a living and organic walking area of Vancouver. For many decades it has been the home of historic districts, ethnic markets, and a mix of commercial and industrial zones. The area has seen rapid change in the last decade and is currently filled with potential and controversial new developments. Each neighborhood or city district can be walked from end to end in fifteen minutes; they are not more than one kilometer wide. Contrary to what one may think, the shape and distribution of DTES is not the result of natural growth meant to 􀂡t the landscape; on the contrary, an order was imposed since its beginning to follow a pattern of land subdivision according to a city map traced two centuries ago.