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Location Westminster, London
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The City of Westminster is a city and borough in London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of central London, including most of the West End. Many London landmarks are within the borough, including Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Whitehall, Westminster Cathedral, 10 Downing Street, and Trafalgar Square.

Westminster became a city in 1540, and historically, it was a part of the ceremonial county of Middlesex. Its southern boundary is the River Thames. To the City of Westminster's east is the City of London near Temple Bar, and to its west is the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. To its north is the London Borough of Camden. Charing Cross in Westminster is the notional centre of London, and the point from which distances from London are measured.

The borough is divided into a number of localities including the ancient political district of Westminster; the shopping areas around Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Bond Street; and the night-time entertainment district of Soho. Much of the borough is residential, and in 2019 it was estimated to have a population of 261,000. Despite large swaths of parks and open spaces, including Hyde Park and most of Regent's Park, the population density of the district is high.

The London Westminster borough was created with the 1965 establishment of Greater London. Upon the creation, it inherited the city status previously held by the then Metropolitan Borough of Westminster from 1900, which was first awarded to Westminster in 1540. The local government body is Westminster City Council, and there has been a Lord Mayor of the City of Westminster since 1966. The area is also within the authority of the Mayor of London, an office created in 2000.

Open spaces[edit | edit source]

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The City of Westminster, a central London borough, has 116 parks and open spaces; these include small gardens as well as larger areas of land. The open spaces are managed by Westminster City Council and private resident and business associations. Westminster is also home to four of the Royal Parks (Hyde Park,Green Park, St. James's Park and Kensington Gardens). The Royal Parks are managed by Royal Parks.

Community involvement[edit | edit source]

In June 2012, Westminster City Council approved the establishment of the first civil parish created in London since new legislation was enacted in 2007.[15] The first election of councillors to Queens Park Community Council took place in May 2014 at the same time as other local elections.[16][17] Subsequent elections will be held every four years at the same time as elections to the city council, with a new parish council being elected as part of the 2018 Westminster City Council election. W

Food activism[edit | edit source]

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see also: Food London

Social inclusion[edit | edit source]

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A study in 2017 by Trust for London and The New Policy Institute found that Westminster has the third-highest pay inequality of the 32 London boroughs. It also has the second-least affordable private rent for low earners in London, behind only Kensington and Chelsea.

Sustainable transport activism[edit | edit source]

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Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, 550 yards (500 m) north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in east London. The canal is 8.6 miles (13.8 km) long.

Due to the increase in cycle commuting since the 2005 London Bombings and increasing environmental awareness, the canal's towpath has become a busy cycle route for commuters. British Waterways has carried out several studies into the effects of sharing the towpath between cyclists and pedestrians, all of which have concluded that despite the limited width there are relatively few problems. The Code of Conduct for shared use sets out the behaviour expected of pedestrians and cyclists.

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By 2009 Westminster City Council had electric vehicle charging points in 15 locations through the city (13 car parks and two on-street points). Users pay an annual fee to cover administration costs to register and use the points. By 2018 there were 60 electric vehicle charging locations.

News and comment[edit | edit source]

2020

Parish councils: an unlikely urban safety net.[1] Apr 13

External links[edit | edit source]

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References[edit | edit source]

FA info icon.svg Angle down icon.svg Page data
Keywords london borough
Authors Phil Green
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 3 pages link here
Aliases Westminster
Impact 520 page views
Created April 5, 2014 by Phil Green
Modified July 11, 2023 by Phil Green
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