The Local Dark Matter Density
  I review current efforts to measure the mean density of dark matter near the
Sun. This encodes valuable dynamical information about our Galaxy and is also
of great importance for 'direct detection' dark matter experiments. I discuss
theoretical expectations in our current cosmology; the theory behind mass
modelling of the Galaxy; and I show how combining local and global measures
probes the shape of the Milky Way dark matter halo and the possible presence of
a 'dark disc'. I stress the strengths and weaknesses of different methodologies
and highlight the continuing need for detailed tests on mock data -
particularly in the light of recently discovered evidence for disequilibria in
the Milky Way disc. I highlight several recent measurements in order of
increasing data complexity and prior, and, correspondingly, decreasing formal
error bars. Comparing these measurements with spherical extrapolations from the
Milky Way's rotation curve, I show that the Milky Way is consistent with having
a spherical dark matter halo at the Solar position R0. The very latest measures
based on ~10,000 stars from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey appear to favour
little halo flattening at R0, suggesting that the Galaxy has a rather weak dark
matter disc, with a correspondingly quiescent merger history [Abridged].
