Located in the centre of the Catalan Pre-Coastal Range, it is the most populated region, with 4,916,847 inhabitants as of 2022.

The region was defined in 1987 in the Territorial Planning Laws approved by the Parliament of Catalonia.

In April 2008, the Department of Territorial Policy and Public Works of the Generalitat de Catalunya presented the preliminary draft of the Barcelona Metropolitan Territorial Plan, which delimits the areas of scenic and strategic interest that are to be preserved and aims to promote a quality road and rail network.

[8][9] Nowadays, the region holds TVC's studios, in Sant Joan Despí (Baix Llobregat), as well as RTVE's Catalan studios, located in Sant Cugat del Vallès (Vallès Occidental).

[10] As far as programming exclusive to the region is concerned, six different local multiplexes are active.