Tonight, we're off to Vitarvis's Point Inglis neighbourhood. Let's check it out on our spy satellite.

Point Inglis juts out into Vitarvis Harbour and it's where the city began. Often simply referred to as "the Point" by locals, the area's great exposure to the harbour and the abundance of freshwater in Lake Adello on the ridge above made it a natural place to settle. The first settlers were fishermen who made a living off the sea's bounty. Often, they wouldn't have to go far to land a day's catch as fish are drawn to the nutrient rich mix of fresh and salt water that makes up Vitarvis Harbour. The seeds of Point Inglis's success were also its limitations though. As the community grew, the presence of water on three sides and a steep hill on the fourth meant there wasn't any available land left for expansion. Growth shifted towards Augustein and Vitarvis on the harbour's other sides and Point Inglis languished. As Vitarvis developed into a major centre, Point Inglis eventually became more fully incorporated in the larger city and it shook off its humble fishing origins. Today, the neighbourhood is defined by a small, but very well regarded, post-secondary institution, the Point Centre for the Humanities, and wealthy low-rise residential development. Let's take a look!

In this aerial, you can see the Point's most well-known landmark, the monument to the settlement of Vitarvis's at the very tip. Across the street from the monument, is the Point Centre for the Humanities (PCH). PCH's impressive dome makes it another well-known local landmark.

PCH has an enrollment of around 2,000 students. There are very few apartments available in Point Inglis that are affordable for students and and as a result, most students have to live elsewhere. Fortunately, PCH is very well-connected to the rest of the city. Three of the Inglis District bus lines (1, 2 and 3) stop at the Centre and the Point Inglis Metro Station is located just across the street. The view from the monument and PCH across to Downtown Vitarvis is stunning!

Many tourists take the Metro across to the Point just to take in the view. Local real estate developers have also tried to cash in on it. The two luxury high-rise buildings next to the Metro Station were very controversial when they were built. Many of Point Inglis's inhabitants opposed them as blocking one of the most scenic vista's in Vitarvis. Of course these views were precisely why the developer wanted to build high-rises there! They were eventually approved by the Regional Planning Review Board, which led the local council to introduce tighter planning rules in the Point that have effectively blocked any further high-rise projects in the neighbourhood. The result is the Point's streets are typically made up of high-end, low-rise, residential houses, such as these ones just up from the PCH on Witherell Road.

Note the modest wooden red house amongst the higher-end properties. A registered heritage property, the McConnell House is one of the few structures left from from Inglis Point's early days, making it one of the oldest buildings in Vitarvis. Continuing up Witherell Road, you enter the Point's small two block business district.

This quirky commercial strip contains a mix of commercial services that cater to both the 2,000 students that visit the Point on a regular basis and the Point's wealthy residents. You can see PCH's dome and the top of the settler's monument peeking up through the trees and the Vitarvis skyline beyond. The need to provide transportation for the students means that there is almost always at least one bus making its way down Witherell Road and the Metro Station across from PCH is always busy.

I hope you've enjoyed poking around the Point with me. We'll be off to explore some more of Vitarvis soon!