The Northern Suburbs (also known as Central North, Inner Northwest, Macquarie District, Ryde District and Northern District) is the metropolitan area on the northern bank of the Parramatta River in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia east of West Pennant Hills and west of the Lane Cove National Park, south of Hornsby. This area includes suburbs in the local government areas of Hornsby Shire, The Hills Shire, City of Ryde, City of Parramatta and Municipality of Hunters Hill. Because this is not a clearly defined region (although having a clearly differently defined lifestyle and social groups over the north shore region), 'Northern Suburbs' may also include the suburbs in the Upper North Shore, Lower North Shore and even the Northern Beaches. The term 'northern suburbs' does not exclusively apply to Sydney, and is in common use throughout other Australian cities.