The Barcelona metropolitan area is a metropolitan area in Catalonia, north of Spain, centered on the city of Barcelona. The metropolitan area occupies a strategic position in southern Europe, in the middle of the Mediterranean corridor that connects Spain with the rest of the continent.

This privileged position has allowed it to become the epicentre of Catalonia. Its territory includes the agricultural areas of Llobregat Delta, the fully urbanised areas of the Barcelona plain and the large green areas of the massifs of Garraf and Collserola and Marina mountain range. The metropolitan area of Barcelona (AMB) is home to 3,239,337 people in a territory of 636 km2. The AMB represents one of the largest metropolitan areas in Europe and occupies the eighth position in terms of population. (Source: Eurostat: metropolitan regions. Eurostat, 2012).

Approximately half of the region (48%) is built land and the rest is occupied by forests and agricultural and natural areas. The AMB is the core of economic activity in the region of Barcelona, as well as of Catalonia. The AMB concentrates 50.9 % of production (GDP) and workers of Catalonia.

The Barcelona metropolitan area has been chosen as a pilot region for the TeRRIFICA project. The team leading the activites under the TeRRIFICA project in this region are the Association of Public Universities of Catalonia (ACUP), the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) and Prof. Quim Brugué from the University of Girona as facilitator.