Kerrisdale is primarily a residential area, and has many long-time residents. Its residential streets are lined with sweeping, grand old trees. Kerrisdale Village is the main shopping area, and one of the first to introduce specially designed street furniture to beautify the main shopping streets. Kerrisdale is in the south-western section of the city, sloping down to the Fraser River.

The stretch of businesses along W. 41st Ave between Balsam and Maple streets comprise the Kerrisdale Business Association,[3] the longest running such association in Vancouver. Member businesses pool funds for festivities and general beautification of the area, including the hiring of a full-time gardener during summer months.

The Arbutus Corridor, a no-longer-used CPR railway line which bisects the neighbourhood, has been purchased by the City of Vancouver and will be a series of community gardens, as well as a greenway for bicycles and pedestrians. The railway line has been removed and the right of way has been converted into a greenway for pedestrians and cyclists.

Kerrisdale Community Centre is home to the Kerrisdale Branch of the Vancouver Public Library, and Kerrisdale Pool.

North of 41st Avenue on East Boulevard is the Kerrisdale Cyclone Taylor Arena, built in 1949 as a hockey arena and was used as wrestling venue for 1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.

The Arbutus Greenway, a large path designed for bikers and pedestrians, runs North-South through the heart of Kerrisdale.

Neighbourhood history and heritage
The first settlers in Kerrisdale were the Irish McCleery brothers, who came to the area in 1867 to farm the meadows where the golf course now bearing their name is located. When the Steveston fish canneries began to flourish, a need for workers prompted the CPR to construct a railway from Vancouver to Lulu Island. The “Sockeye Special,” as it was called, went through the heart of Kerrisdale, providing transportation for the first influx of people.