Southampton

Southampton is the largest city on the south coast of England. It is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest. The city lies roughly in the centre of the coast, at the northern-most point of Southampton Water where it is joined by the River Test and River Itchen, with the River Hamble joining to the south of the urban area. The city is situated approximately halfway between Bournemouth and Portsmouth.

The local authority is Southampton City Council, which is a unitary authority. The city is part of the ceremonial county of Hampshire.

Southampton has a number of important businesses and organisations based in it, such as the University of Southampton, a Ford Transit factory and in the docks, one of the largest container ports in Europe.

The city represents the core of the Greater Southampton region, with a population of 222,000. The city's name is sometimes abbreviated in writing to "So'ton" or "Soton", and a resident of Southampton is called a Sotonian.

Southampton is probably most famous for being the home of the RMS Titanic, the Spitfire and more recently a number of the largest cruise liners in the world.

As with most cities there are several council estates such as those in the Weston, Thornhill and Townhill Park districts. Overall, the city is ranked 96th most deprived out of all 354 Local Authorities in England. There are many tower blocks in the city.