Glad to see this thread created, I might have to stop being lazy and take a few pictures. THe Burquitlam area in particular is really changing fast. Although it is more the 'quitlam' than the 'Bur' that is changing.
I was driving up North Road with my son a little while ago, and he asked me, 'which city is on which side of the street again?'
So I told him, Burnaby on the left, Coquitlam on the right, and then he paused for a second, and then he asked, 'Is Burnaby poor?'
One advantage Burquitlam has over other some other nearby areas (such as central Coquitlam or Lougheed) is that it doesn't have the oceans of parking surrounding malls and big box stores and giant 'plazas' to overcome. Once Burquitlam Plaza gets developed (hopefully starting soon), you'll have a pretty urban, walkable neighbourhood, where there was once just a stroad surrounded by gas stations, strip malls and a few low rise rental buildings.