The northeastern portion of Guelph is composed of four major neighborhoods and one commercial-industrial region. The neighborhoods of Waverly, Brant, Grange Hill and Grange Hill East make up this portion of the city. Geographically, these neighborhoods are roughly bordered by Victoria Road, Eramosa Road, Eastview Road and Elizabeth Street. The commercial-industrial park lies on the eastern edge of the city, just north of the Grange Hill East neighborhood.
The southeastern quadrant of Guelph, as bordered by Gordon and Elizabeth streets, is composed largely of commercial-industrial installations with a few subdivisions peppering the landscape. Those neighborhoods are Two Rivers near downtown and two unnamed subdivisions straddling Gordon Street on the southern end of the city.
Like its neighbor to the east, southwest Guelph has several commercial and light-industrial installations. The neighborhoods in this part of the city cover a minority of the landscape in parts of the city that were annexed with municipal expansion. The neighborhoods of Parkwood Creek, Hanlon Creek, Kortight Hills and Clairfields constitute the only named areas within this portion of the city. Six other smaller, unnamed subdivisions cover the rest of this quadrant. A small subdivision north of Exhibition Park also juts into the commercial zone.
Northwestern Guelph, like northeast, has a largely residential cityscape, although one sprawling commercial-industrial park stretches across the far northern part of the city. The neighborhoods of West Willow Woods, Onward Willow and Exhibition Park all are bordered by either Paisley Road or Paisley Street, depending on how far west one travels.
Downtown Guelph is the oldest part of the city, dating back to 1827 when it was founded by Scottish novelist John Galt. Galt planned the city to resemble older towns in the British Isles, with a single focal point at the center and smaller divisions radiating from there. It is said to be one of Canada's first planned cities, but growth remained stagnant for about 30 years until Montreal's Grand Trunk Railroad opened a station downtown.
