Jonathan Shandler : Vancouver Real Estate, North and West Vancouver : Jonathan Shandler RE/MAX Crest

While the City and District are separate entities, each with their own mayors, councils, and operations departments, they share several core services such as the North Vancouver School District, the North Vancouver Recreation Commission and the North Vancouver detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. These two municipalities, along with the the district of West Vancouver are commonly referred to as the North Shore.

The differences between the two municipalities are most apparent to their respective residents. For the most part, other Lower Mainland residents rarely distinguish between the District and the City, referring to both collectively as "North Vancouver". The same is true for commercial advertising, and even for certain government departments, including Canada Post. There have been several proposals over the years with regards to merging the two municipalities, but none have progressed beyond the concept stage.

There are, however, some distinct differences between the two municipalities, both physically and socially:

The District of North Vancouver is by far the larger of the two. Bounded by the Capilano River to the west, Indian Arm to the east, Burrard Inlet to the south, and the North Shore Mountains to the north, it sprawls in an east-west direction across the mountain slopes, characterized by rugged terrain, frequent rain and steep and winding roadways. The District is primarily made up of single-family residential housing, with an industrial base along the shoreline of Burrard Inlet. It has more than twice the population of the City, but with a much lower population density. There is no clearly defined "downtown"; instead, a series of commercial areas such as Edgemont Village and Lynn Valley serve as local community hubs.

The City of North Vancouver, on the other hand, has a much more urban feel. Surrounded to the west, north, and east by the District, the City is home to the majority of the North Shore's high rise buildings, rental properties, and commercial operations. As with the District, there are industrial sites along the shore of Burrard Inlet, although in recent years several of these have begun to convert to residential and commercial areas. The City also has the Lonsdale Quay public market and the northern terminal for Vancouver's Seabus transit ferry. Regional planners have identified the City, and specifically its Central Lonsdale and Lower Lonsdale neighbourhoods, as the "downtown" of the North Shore.