Shaughnessy is largely residential, with a higher-than-average proportion of heritage houses from the first half of last century. The Shaughnessy area has three neighborhoods – First Shaughnessy, Second Shaughnessy and Third Shaughnessy.

First Shaughnessy: The boundaries of this area centered on ‘The Crescent’ that encircled Shaughnessy Park, and extended from 16th Avenue to King Edward Avenue, and Oak Street to the Arbutus Corridor. There are 595 properties in First Shaughnessy, of which 329 were constructed before 1940. Eighty of the properties are listed on the Vancouver Heritage Register. Many of the homes in First Shaughnessy were designed by the city's leading architects including Maclure & Fox, Parr & Fee, Sharp & Thompson, and Thomas Hooper. The architectural styles used during this period range from English Arts and Crafts and Tudor Revival to Craftsman and Colonial Revival.

Second Shaughnessy: The impact of First Shaughnessy was so great that CPR developed adjacent land called as Second Shaughnessy to accommodate demand. Area between King Edward and 37th is called Second Shaughnessy.

Third Shaughnessy: Third Shaughnessy sits between North 37th and South 41st Avenues and it come into existence in 1926. Most people consider Third Shaughnessy as second Shaughnessy.