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 practical to commute to work in London. It is also known as the London commuter belt, or Southeast metropolitan area.London Assembly – London in its Regional Setting (PDF)
Scope The boundaries are not fixed; they expand as transport options improve and affordable housing moves further away from the city centre.BBC News – The new commuter belt. 18 July 2006. 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, Bedfordshire.
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 north-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."Travel to Work Areas (TTWAs) Beginners' guide to UK geography, Office for National Statistics has a population of 9,294,800 (2005 estimate).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)
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 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, 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: (no district in Bedfordshire, Hampshire, or Sussex is included). Several large conurbations fall just outside the zone: Including the Reading built-up area, the Luton/Dunstable urban area, the High Wycombe built-up area and significant parts of the Aldershot and Crawley Urban Areas.
+Districts of the Home Counties in relation to London's Larger Urban Zone Region County Districts within the Zone Districts outside the Zone Area (km2) Population East Hertfordshire Broxbourne East Hertfordshire Dacorum Hertsmere Three Rivers Stevenage St Albans Watford Welwyn Hatfield North Hertfordshire 1,267.6 1,067,049 Essex Basildon Brentwood Castle Point Chelmsford Epping Forest Harlow Maldon Rochford Southend-on-Sea Thurrock Uttlesford Braintree Colchester Tendring 2,387.5 1,335,684 South East Kent Dartford Gravesham Maidstone Medway Tonbridge and Malling Tunbridge Wells Sevenoaks Ashford Canterbury Dover Folkestone and Hythe Swale Thanet 1,698.4 1,055,194 Surrey Elmbridge Epsom and Ewell Guildford Mole Valley Reigate and Banstead Runnymede Spelthorne Surrey Heath Tandridge Woking Waverley 1,317.8 1,061,056 Berkshire Bracknell Forest Slough Windsor and Maidenhead Reading West Berkshire Wokingham 339.4 512,535 Buckinghamshire Chiltern South Bucks Aylesbury Wycombe Milton Keynes 337.6 165,970
Note: In 2027, the districts in Surrey, as well as the administrative county, will be abolished, and replaced by two unitary authorities: East Surrey and West Surrey.
Urban areas within the commuter belt
The following table lists urban areas (also known as built-up areas) considered part of the London Commuter Belt with populations over 20,000. The commuter belt contains all urban areas within an approximate 40 mile (64 km) radius of Charing Cross. Some of the outermost towns are Aylesbury, Reading, Aldershot and Maidstone.
RankUrban AreaPopulation(2011 Census)County1Greater London Urban Area9,787,426Greater London2Reading/Wokingham Urban Area318,014Berkshire3Southend Urban Area295,310Essex4Medway Towns Urban Area277,855Kent5Luton/Dunstable Urban Area258,018Bedfordshire6Aldershot Urban Area252,397Hampshire7Crawley Urban Area180,508West Sussex8Slough Urban Area163,777Berkshire9Basildon/Wickford144,859Essex10High Wycombe Urban Area133,204Buckinghamshire11Chelmsford111,511Essex12Basingstoke107,642Hampshire13Maidstone107,627Kent14Stevenage90,232Hertfordshire15Grays/Tilbury89,755Essex16Aylesbury74,748Buckinghamshire17Royal Tunbridge Wells68,910Kent18Maidenhead64,831Berkshire19Welwyn Urban Area59,910Hertfordshire20Reigate/Redhill56,621Surrey21Brentwood52,586Essex22Horsham51,472West Sussex23Sittingbourne48,948Kent24Amersham/Chesham46,122Buckinghamshire25Hertford/Ware45,457Hertfordshire26Letchworth/Baldock43,529Hertfordshire27Hatfield41,677Hertfordshire28Fleet38,726Hampshire29Tonbridge38,657Kent30Canvey Island38,170Essex31Bishop's Stortford37,838Hertfordshire32Leighton Buzzard37,469Bedfordshire33Billericay36,338Essex34Hitchin36,099Hertfordshire35Haywards Heath33,845West Sussex36Windsor/Eton33,348Berkshire37Burgess Hill30,635West Sussex38Harpenden30,240Hertfordshire39Sevenoaks29,506Kent40Stanford Le Hope/Corringham28,725Essex41Ditton25,982Kent42Godalming22,689Surrey43Potters Bar22,639Hertfordshire44New Addington22,280Greater London45Berkhamsted21,997Hertfordshire46Swanley21,839Kent47Gerrards Cross/Chalfont St Peter20,633Buckinghamshire48Crowborough20,607East Sussex
Outer commuter belt Some estate agents, including James Pendleton and Savills, 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.
See also Greater London Built-up Area Stockbroker Belt Home counties List of metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom
References
External links Calculator for commuter travel times to London from the Home Counties London Travel to Work Area mapped with others