GAW Report No. 205 - IGAC Project

CHAPTER 6 - EUROPEFigure 7 - Greater London Map with the Low Emission Zone and the Congestion Charging Zone marked[tfl.gov.uk/lezlondon]6.2.4 Monitoring networkThe London Air Quality Network (LAQN) was set up in 1993 by the Environmental ResearchGroup (ERG) at King’s College in London in cooperation with the London Boroughs and RegionalHealth Authorities. There are over 160 continuous monitoring sites throughout Greater London, andup to date information about air pollution levels is available on their website www.londonair.org.uk.6.3 PARIS6.3.1 Population and geographyAmong the 22 regions of French mainland, the Ile de France region has the highestpopulation, with about 11.7 millions inhabitants, and the highest population density (nearly 1000inhabitants per km 2 ), over an area of about 12000 km 2 . It hosts about 19% of the French population,but generates 28.6 % of the gross domestic product of France (excluding overseas departments)[source: INSEE, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques].Most of the Ile de France population is living in an urbanised area of about 30 – 40 kmdiameter, around Paris city. In these areas, population density is between 3000 and more than30000 inhabitants per km 2 . The agglomeration is also surrounded by rural areas, mainly agriculturalland and forest areas (Figure 8). The Ile de France region is mainly flat, altitudes varying from 11 to221 meters above sea level.200