Today, "
London" usually refers to the region of London and the county-level administrative area of Greater London, which cover an identical area and are sub-divided into the thirty-two London Boroughs and the City of London.
Historically, "London" referred to the square mile of the City of London at the conurbation's heart, from which the city grew. Between 1889 and 1965 it referred to the former County of London which covered the area now known as Inner London. The metropolitan area of the County of London was previously covered by the Metropolitan Board of Works.
There are other definitions of "London" which cover varying areas, such as the Greater London Urban Area, the London postal districts; the area covered by the telephone area code 020; the area accessible by public transport using a Transport for London travelcard; the area delimited by the M25 orbital motorway; the Metropolitan Police District; and the London commuter belt.
Whilst to all practical intents and purposes based on the geographical definition of a city, the entire London urban area can be classed as a city, London itself is not actually technically or legally speaking a city but instead contains within its built-up area two much smaller cities; the City of London and the City of Westminster. See City status in the United Kingdom.
The coordinates of the center of London (traditionally considered to be Charing Cross, near the junction of Trafalgar Square, the Strand, Whitehall and the Mall) are approximately 51°30?N 0°8?W. The Romans may have marked the center of Londinium with the London Stone in the City.
London Districts
Central London
Central London is a much-used but unofficial and vaguely defined term for the most inner part of London, the capital of the United Kingdom. There are many definitions and each has its own notional boundary. Some are defined by clear boundaries, others less so. All definitions have in common the notion that central London is smaller than, and a subset of, Inner London.
City of London
The City of London viewed from Tower BridgeThe City of London is the principal financial district of the United Kingdom, and is one of the most important in the world. It is governed by the Corporation of London, an ancient body headed by the Lord Mayor of London. The City also has its own police force, the City of London police. Once dominated by the dome of St Paul's Cathedral, London is home to modern skyscrapers, including Tower 42 (formerly, and popularly still, known as the NatWest Tower) and 30 St Mary Axe (popularly known as the "Gherkin", built in 2003). The skyline is set to change further over the next few years as more high-profile skyscrapers are being built in the City of London to satisfy the need for additional office space. The City has a resident population of about 7,000 people, but a daytime working population of more than 300,000. Its primacy as the chief financial district has been directly challenged in recent years by Canary Wharf in East London.
The West End
A red Routemaster bus crosses Piccadilly CircusThe West End is the most popular shopping and entertainment district in London. Trafalgar Square is the most prominent landmark. Oxford Street is one of the best-known and busiest shopping streets in the world. Running from Charing Cross Road in the east to Marble Arch in the west, via Oxford Circus where it crosses Regent Street, it is home to many large department stores and shops (Selfridges, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer). Tottenham Court Road runs north from the eastern end of Oxford Street towards the north of the city centre, and is best known for its plethora of hi-fi, computer and electronics stores. West of the City, Covent Garden is home to the Avenue of Stars, London's version of Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
South of Oxford Street's eastern end is Soho, a network of small streets crowded with restaurants, pubs, clubs, smaller shops and boutiques, and theaters and cinemas, as well as media companies and film, advertising and post-production companies. Soho is also well known for its very lively club and bar scene, the notorious sex industry and the major "gay quarter" of the city. Piccadilly is an elegant thoroughfare running from Piccadilly Circus in the east to Hyde Park Corner in the west. It is adjacent to Mayfair, and Green Park. Regent Street and Bond Street are important thoroughfares.
East London
East London saw much of London's early industrial development and much of it now is being extensively redeveloped as part of the Thames Gateway. It was also key to London's successful bid to host the 2012 Olympics, and is now scheduled to undergo extensive regeneration in the run-up to the games. This is the second time in modern history that East London has seen large-scale
rebuilding: it took the full force of the Blitz in World War Two, with post-war reconstruction leaving a legacy of bleak housing estates and tower blocks in several areas.
The East End
The Hackney Empire in London's East EndThe East End of London is closest to the original Port of London, and tended for that reason to be the area of the city where immigrants arriving into the port would settle first.
Successive waves of immigrants include the French, the Huguenots, Belgians, Jews, Gujaratis, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and many other groups.
The East End extends from the eastern side of the City of London and includes areas such as Whitechapel, Mile End, Bethnal Green, Hackney, Bow, Millwall and Poplar. The area has many places of interest including many of London's markets, (for example Columbia Road Flower Market, Spitalfields Market, Brick Lane Market, Petticoat Lane Market), and several museums, including the Geffrye Museum and the Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green.
The East End of London is also home to the longest street market in Europe, Walthamstow market.
Docklands
The Canary Wharf complex viewed from the City of LondonThe London Docklands, on the Isle of Dogs along the Thames in the East End, has developed enormously since the early-1980s. For a period in the early-1980s, many warehouse buildings in Wapping had been occupied and used as artists'
studios and low-cost loft living spaces. This inevitably drew the attention of property developers who gradually (and then not so gradually) moved in to take over. The London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) was set up in
1981 to accelerate the process, and the first phases of major development started to reshape the area, culminating in Canary Wharf, whose best-known feature is the 1 Canada Square office tower (which is often incorrectly called "Canary Wharf"), which has been the UK's tallest skyscraper since 1991.
A massive-scale development within the last three or four years has added a great many more skyscrapers, and many large businesses (investment banks, law firms, etc.) have moved in. A new headquarters for HSBC and Barclays as well as the European headquarters of Citigroup, have now been completed, and are in use. Many more skyscrapers are being built in the area over the next decade.
Attracted by this growth, restaurants, bars and nightclubs have opened, there are three interconnected shopping malls beneath the Canary Wharf structure, and a cinema complex has opened in the area. The Docklands Light Railway (DLR) serves the area, connecting to the London Underground at Bank, Shadwell, Canning Town and Stratford stations.
There has also been a great deal of gentrification and residential development in the area: North of the Thames around Limehouse Basin and toward Wapping, as well as south of the Thames in Rotherhithe where former wharfs and the old docks have been converted into high-priced loft apartments for a community of bankers, software developers and others working in the financial service industries in and around Docklands.
Further east in the London Borough of Newham are London City Airport and the ExCeL Exhibition Centre.
West London
London Underground "Roundel" sign at Notting Hill GateWest London includes many of the traditionally fashionable and expensive residential areas such as Notting Hill, made better known in 1999 by a film of the same name starring Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts. The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event led by members of the Caribbean community, many of whom have lived in the area since the 1950s. The carnival attracts up to 1.5 million people, making it the largest street festival in the world.
Within the district is the famous antique market at Portobello Road.
Kensington and Chelsea are the most expensive places to live in the country.
The area is also famous for the Kings Road, a distinguished and attractive shopping street and thoroughfare.
Further to the west, at White City, near Shepherd's Bush, is the principal operating centre for the BBC, while in the extreme west, in the London Borough of Hillingdon, lies Europe's largest and busiest airport, London Heathrow.
Considered more south-west than West London on account of its being the only London borough to straddle the River Thames, Richmond upon Thames includes the attractive riverside districts of Richmond and Twickenham. This corner of London is home to Richmond Park, London's largest, and Twickenham, the home of English rugby union.
North London
Park Crescent near Regent's ParkNorth London includes suburbs such as Hampstead and Highgate, which retain a village atmosphere. North London is hillier than the south, and many of the hills give excellent views across the city. Large parks include Hampstead Heath, which includes Parliament Hill, n
oted for its fine views over the city, and the Hampstead bathing ponds; and Alexandra Park, site of Alexandra Palace. Many areas have significant minority populations including Stamford Hill, home to a significant community of Orthodox Jews and Muslims, the Green Lanes area of Harringay and the Finsbury Park area have large Turkish and Greek communities.
Islington is considered one of the more affluent areas in London, due to large scale gentrification, although it is in fact one of the most deprived boroughs in the country; it is also home to Arsenal football club. North London's other world-famous football team, Tottenham Hotspur, play in nearby Tottenham.
South London
South London contains such diverse districts as Wimbledon (famous as the home of the major tennis Wimbledon Championships), Bermondsey, Clapham, Eltham, Lewisham, Woolwich, Blackheath, Southwark, New Cross and Dulwich.
Redevelopment of the Elephant and Castle, a road intersection and district close to the centre, is due to start in 2006.
Greenwich is on the banks of the Thames where the river broadens into a wide meandering reach of muddy water. It is an historic neighbourhood and boasts a fine park and the Royal Greenwich Observatory. It is also has a popular market.
Brixton, Camberwell, Lewisham and Peckham are home to many families (and their descendants) who migrated to London from the West Indies during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, sometimes known as Afro-Caribbeans.
