Calgary is primarily divided into four sections, the Northwest, Northeast, Southwest and Southeast. The Northwest section is west of Centre Street and north of the Bow River. Northeast Calgary is north of Memorial Drive and east of Centre Street. Southwest Calgary is west of Centre Street and south of the Bow River. Southeast Calgary is south of downtown and east of Macleod trail. The most popular sections of the city are the outer suburbs in the Northwest (where the University is,) and the outer suburbs in the Southwest, this is because they are closer to the Canadian Rockies, offer gorgeous mountain views and are less commercialized and industrialized. The best areas of the Northwest are Tuscany, Rocky Ridge, Panorama Hills, Royal Oak, Briar Hill and Hillurst . The best areas in the Southwest are Scarboro, Rideau, Roxboro, Parkhill, Elbow park and one of the best inner city locations in Bridgeland.
According to a report by Mercer Consulting in 2008, Calgary ranks as one of the safest cities in the World. However, with over a million people there is sure to be some crime, and as noted by Calgary's Police Services website, Calgary has an average of 17 homicides per year. Spotcrime.com has labeled the Northeast inner city and Southeast inner city areas and areas by the airport to have the majority of Calgary's crime. This has been thought to be due to the industrialization of these areas. Also, Calgary has 4,060 homeless people according to calgarypedia.com and most of the homeless live on the inner city streets. This makes the downtown areas less attractive, and somewhat troublesome. In recent years Calgary has had an influx of gang and drug related activities that have mostly taken place in the inner city areas as well as the Northeast and Southeast areas.
