Queensborough occupies the eastern tip of Lulu Island — the same island that holds Richmond — separated from the rest of New Westminster by the Fraser River's north arm and connected by two bridges. For most of the city's history it was industrial land (log booms, small mills, farmland) with a small residential population. That changed over the past 20 years: the Queensborough Landing outlet shopping centre opened in 2010, flood-plain requirements drove new housing to be built on raised foundations (giving the area its distinctive look of townhouses perched above street level), and the neighbourhood has grown a substantial Filipino and South Asian community.

The housing stock is almost entirely new — single-family houses and townhouses built since 2000, with a handful of older bungalows. Because it's an island and because it's built to flood-plain standards, lot sizes are generally smaller than mainland New West but the houses themselves are larger and newer. A family-oriented townhouse in Queensborough typically lists at $2,800–3,500 for three bedrooms, competitive with Richmond but with the advantage of smaller, newer buildings and often a small yard.

The Queensborough Landing outlet mall (Nike, Levi's, Under Armour, Columbia, etc.) is the area's main retail anchor, plus a Superstore, a Walmart, and a growing Filipino grocery scene. Transit access is the catch: there's no SkyTrain on the island. The 410 bus connects Queensborough to 22nd Street Station on the Expo Line, about a 15-minute ride. For many Queensborough residents the trade-off is worth it — newer housing, a strong Filipino community, and outlet-mall grocery runs on foot — but the transit limitation is real.