London metropolitan area

The London metropolitan area includes London and its surrounding commuter zone (the area in which it is practicable to commute to work in London). It is also known as the London commuter belt,[1] or Southeast metropolitan area.[2]

Not to be confused with Greater London, Greater London Built-up Area, or City of London.
An approximate view of the London commuter belt showing commuter towns and the main road and rail links into the city. Urban areas in and around London are grey.

As of September 2019, the London metropolitan area was the most populated metropolis in the (then) European Union with a population of 14,372,596.[3]

Scope

The boundaries are not fixed; they expand as transport options improve and affordable housing moves further away from the city centre.[4] The belt currently covers much of the South East region and part of the East of England region, including the home counties of Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Surrey, Kent and Essex, and, by several definitions, Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex and Bedfordshire.

The population of Greater London and those counties adjacent to the green belt was 18,868,800 in 2011. Much of the undeveloped part of this area lies within the designated Metropolitan Green Belt, which covers nearly all of Surrey, eastern Berkshire, southern Buckinghamshire, southern and mid Hertfordshire, southern Bedfordshire, south-west Essex, and western Kent. In addition, 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 in 2001 (dark blue), with the administrative boundary of Greater London shown.

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."[5] has a population of 9,294,800 (2005 estimate).[6]

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.

Adjacent districts often share characteristics of Outer London, such as forming part of the continuous urban sprawl, being served by the London Underground, being covered by the London telephone area code, (until 2000) forming part of the Metropolitan Police District and having a relatively high employed population working in London.

London's Larger Urban Zone

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,[7] 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:[8] (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
RegionCountyDistricts within the ZoneDistricts outside the Zone
EastHertfordshire North Hertfordshire
Essex
South EastKent
Surrey
  • Waverley
Berkshire
Buckinghamshire

Urban areas within the commuter belt
The urban area of London (grey) extends beyond the London boundary. The M25 is also shown. The 020 telephone dialling code is shown in red.

The following table lists urban areas (also known as built-up areas) considered part of the London Commuter Belt with populations over 20,000.[9][10] 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.[11][12][13]

Rank Urban Area[14] Population

(2011 Census)[14]

 County
1 Greater London Urban Area 9,787,426 Greater London
2 Reading/Wokingham Urban Area 318,014 Berkshire
3 Southend Urban Area 295,310 Essex
4 Medway Towns Urban Area 277,855 Kent
5 Luton/Dunstable Urban Area 258,018 Bedfordshire
6 Aldershot Urban Area 252,397 Hampshire
7 Crawley Urban Area 180,508 West Sussex
8 Slough Urban Area 163,777 Berkshire
9 Basildon/Wickford 144,859 Essex
10 High Wycombe Urban Area 133,204 Buckinghamshire
11 Chelmsford 111,511 Essex
12 Basingstoke 107,642 Hampshire
13 Maidstone 107,627 Kent
14 Stevenage 90,232 Hertfordshire
15 Grays/Tilbury 89,755 Essex
16 Aylesbury 74,748 Buckinghamshire
17 Royal Tunbridge Wells 68,910 Kent
18 Maidenhead 64,831 Berkshire
19 Welwyn Urban Area 59,910 Hertfordshire
20 Reigate/Redhill 56,621 Surrey
21 Brentwood 52,586 Essex
22 Horsham 51,472 West Sussex
23 Sittingbourne 48,948 Kent
24 Amersham/Chesham 46,122 Buckinghamshire
25 Hertford/Ware 45,457 Hertfordshire
26 Letchworth/Baldock 43,529 Hertfordshire
27 Hatfield 41,677 Hertfordshire
28 Fleet 38,726 Hampshire
29 Tonbridge 38,657 Kent
30 Canvey Island 38,170 Essex
31 Bishop's Stortford 37,838 Hertfordshire
32 Leighton Buzzard 37,469 Bedfordshire
33 Billericay 36,338 Essex
34 Hitchin 36,099 Hertfordshire
35 Haywards Heath 33,845 West Sussex
36 Windsor/Eton 33,348 Berkshire
37 Burgess Hill 30,635 West Sussex
38 Harpenden 30,240 Hertfordshire
39 Sevenoaks 29,506 Kent
40 Stanford Le Hope/Corringham 28,725 Essex
41 Ditton 25,982 Kent
42 Godalming 22,689 Surrey
43 Potters Bar 22,639 Hertfordshire
44 New Addington 22,280 Greater London
45 Berkhamsted 21,997 Hertfordshire
46 Swanley 21,839 Kent
47 Gerrards Cross 20,633 Buckinghamshire
48 Crowborough 20,607 East Sussex

Outer Commuter Belt

Some estate agents, including James Pendleton[15] and Savills[16] have defined a 'second commuter belt' further out of London and the home counties. The definition includes places up to approximately 55 miles (89 km) out of central London including Oxford, Hastings, Margate, Milton Keynes and Brighton.

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See also

References
  1. "Greater South East needs strategic investment to secure future". London Development Agency. 18 June 2007. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011.
  2. London Assembly Archived 27 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine – London in its Regional Setting (PDF)
  3. "Metropolitan Area Populations". Eurostat. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  4. BBC News – The new commuter belt. 18 July 2006.
  5. Travel to Work Areas (TTWAs) Archived 1 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine Beginners' guide to UK geography, Office for National Statistics
  6. State of the Cities Database Report on the Urban Competitiveness Theme for: – London TTWA (LA) State of the Cities Database – Department for Communities and Local Government (Mid year population estimates on page 4 of the report)
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 December 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/regional-analysis/urban-audit/urban-audit-ii/urban-audit---social-cohesion--london.xls
  9. "British urban pattern: population data" (PDF). ESPON project 1.4.3 Study on Urban Functions. European Spatial Planning Observation Network. March 2007. p. 119. Archived from the original (pdf) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  10. "World Gazetteer: London - largest cities (per geographical entity)". 9 February 2013. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013.
  11. "Distance between Aylesbury, UK and London, UK (UK)". distancecalculator.globefeed.com.
  12. "Distance between Maidstone, UK and London, UK (UK)". distancecalculator.globefeed.com.
  13. "Distance between Aldershot, UK and London, UK (UK)". distancecalculator.globefeed.com.
  14. "2011 Census – Built-up areas". ONS. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  15. https://www.loveproperty.com/news/72595/the-secrets-out-londons-new-commuter-belt-revealed
  16. White, Anna (20 May 2016). "Revealed: the 31 hotspots where house prices will surge now" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.

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