The region consists of the boroughs, in whole or in part, of Bexley, Bromley, Croydon, Greenwich, Kingston, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merton, Richmond, Southwark, Sutton and Wandsworth.

South London originally emerged from Southwark,[1] first recorded as Suthriganaweorc,[2][3] meaning 'fort of the men of Surrey'.

As late as the mid-18th century, there were no other bridges crossing the river and hence urban growth was considerably slower in the south than in areas north of the Thames.

The County of London was formed in 1899, which incorporated these boroughs south of the river: Wandsworth, Lambeth, Battersea, Camberwell, Southwark, Bermondsey, Deptford, Lewisham, Greenwich and Woolwich.

Very little of London's underground rail network lies south of the river, largely due to the challenging geology;[4] however, 21st-century technology makes tunnelling much cheaper (though stations are still expensive) and this may lead to an improved underground provision in south London with the Crossrail 2 line proposed alongside extensions to the Northern and Bakerloo Lines.

It forms part of the City of London, a sui generis local authority which is mainly located north of the Thames.

The commission's study, was to start with existing regions of England and then group the local authorities within that area into sub-regions for further sub-division.

Three Met Office weather stations currently collect climate data south of the river: Kew, Hampton, and Kenley Airfield, on the southern edge of the urban area.