The London metropolitan area is the
metropolitan area of
London,
England. It has several definitions, including the London
Travel to Work Area, and usually consists of the London
urban area, settlements that share London's infrastructure, and places from which it is practicable to commute to work in London. It is also known as the London commuter belt,[3] or Southeast metropolitan area.[4]
The resident population of
Greater London and those counties (partly) within the
Metropolitan Green Belt was 18,868,800
in 2011. Much of the undeveloped part of this area lies within the designated belt, which, save as to existing buildings, yards and gardens, covers nearly all of
Surrey, eastern
Berkshire, southern
Buckinghamshire, southern and mid
Hertfordshire, southern
Bedfordshire, south-west
Essex, and western
Kent. Largely in these counties, three
Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (the Chiltern Hills, Surrey Hills and North Downs AONBs) surrounding the Thames basin are within the commuter belt.
Definitions
Travel to work area
The London
travel to work area, defined by the
Office for National Statistics as the area for which "of the resident economically active population, at least 75% actually work in the area, and also, that of everyone working in the area, at least 75% actually live in the area."[6] has a population of 9,294,800 (2005 estimate).[7]
This TTWA excludes some parts of Greater London such as Uxbridge, Hounslow and Kingston which form part of the
Heathrow TTWA. Conversely it includes areas beyond Greater London such as Rickmansworth, Broxbourne, Grays, Dartford, Gravesend and Epsom.
Environs of Greater London
There are 17 local government districts that share a boundary with Greater London, in the East and South East regions. Most districts are entirely, or have sections, within the
M25 motorway or are within 15–20 miles (24–32 km) of
Charing Cross.
Larger Urban Zone is a definition created in 2004 by
Eurostat that measures the population and expanse of metropolitan areas across European countries. Based on the
2001 census, the population of London's Larger Urban Zone was 11.9 million,[8] ranking it as the most populous metropolitan area in the
European Union until Brexit. The districts that are considered parts of this Larger Urban Zone are listed here:[9] (no district in
Bedfordshire, Hampshire, or
Sussex is included). Several large conurbations fall just outside the zone:
Reading,
Luton,
High Wycombe and significant parts of the
Aldershot and
Crawley Urban Areas.
Districts of the Home Counties in relation to London's Larger Urban Zone
The following table lists urban areas (also known as built-up areas) considered part of the London Commuter Belt with populations over 20,000.[11][12] The commuter belt contains all urban areas within an approximate 40 mile (64 km) radius of Charing Cross. Some of the outermost towns include
Aylesbury,
Reading,
Aldershot and
Maidstone.[13][14][15]
Some estate agents, including James Pendleton[17] and Savills,[18] have defined a 'second commuter belt' further away from London. The definition includes places up to approximately 55 miles (89 km) from central London, including
Bedford,
Brighton,
Cambridge,
Hastings,
Margate,
Milton Keynes and
Oxford.