# London metropolitan area

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, or Southeast metropolitan area.

## Scope

The boundaries are not fixed; they expand as transport options improve and affordable housing moves further away from the city centre. 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." has a population of 9,294,800 (2005 estimate).
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.
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 (km$^2$) | Population |
| East | Hertfordshire | Broxbourne East Hertfordshire Dacorum Hertsmere Three Rivers Stevenage St Albans Watford Welwyn Hatfield | North Hertfordshire | 1,267.6 | 1,067,049 |
| East | 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 |
| South East | Surrey | Elmbridge Epsom and Ewell Guildford Mole Valley Reigate and Banstead Runnymede Spelthorne Surrey Heath Tandridge Woking | Waverley | 1,317.8 | 1,061,056 |
| South East | Berkshire | Bracknell Forest Slough Windsor and Maidenhead | Reading West Berkshire Wokingham | 339.4 | 512,535 |
| South East | Buckinghamshire | Chiltern South Bucks | Aylesbury Wycombe Milton Keynes | 337.6 | 165,970 |

### 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 include Aylesbury, Reading, Aldershot and Maidstone.
| Rank | Urban Area | Population (2011 Census) | 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/Chalfont St Peter | 20,633 | Buckinghamshire |
| 48 | Crowborough | 20,607 | East 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.