Area London

Area

Today,

"London" usually refers to the region

of England called London, which is

coterminous with Greater London. At the heart of the conurbation is the small,

ancient City of London

which was historically the entirety of the city. Londoners generally refer to

the City of London

simply as "the City" or the "Square Mile". London's metropolitan area grew considerably

during the Victorian era and again during the Interwar period with expansion

halted in the 1940s by World War II and Green Belt legislation and has been

largely static since.

The

extent of the London postal district, Metropolitan Police District, local

government area, London transport area, urban sprawl, coverage of the London

telephone area code and metropolitan area have rarely been coterminous and are

not currently. The area delimited by the orbital M25 motorway is sometimes used

to define the "London

area" and the Greater London boundary has been aligned to it in places. London is split for some

purposes into Inner London and Outer London.

The

coordinates of the centre of London

(traditionally considered to be the original Charing Cross, near the junction

of Trafalgar Square

and Whitehall)

are approximately 51°30′N 0°8′W. The Romans may have marked the centre of

Londinium with the London Stone in the City.