The
Downtown Eastside (DTES) is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is perhaps erroneously known as "Canada's poorest postal code". According to the city of Vancouver, the following zoning areas are partly or wholly within the Downtown Eastside:
Chinatown,
Gastown,
Oppenheimer Park (formerly
Japantown),
Strathcona, Thornton Park and
Victory Square, as well as the light industrial area to the North. There are many conflicting definitions of its perimeter but it can generally be viewed as being bordered by Abbott Street to the west, Clark Drive to the east, the waterfront to the north and Venables Street/Prior Avenue to the south, with Hastings Street running down the middle of the neighbourhood.