It is named after its largest settlement, Bradford, but covers a larger area which includes the towns and villages of Keighley, Shipley, Bingley, Ilkley, Haworth, Silsden, Queensbury, Thornton and Denholme.

Bradford is the 4th largest metropolitan district in the country, and the contiguous urban area to the north which includes the towns of Shipley and Bingley is heavily populated.

More than half of Bradford's land is green open space, stretching over part of the Airedale and Wharfedale Valleys, across the hills and the Pennine moorland between.

[10] The City of Bradford has architecture designated as being of special or historic importance, most of which were constructed with local stone, with 5,800 listed buildings and 59 conservation areas.

However, Bradford has faced similar challenges to the rest of the post-industrial area of northern England, including deindustrialisation, housing problems, and economic deprivation.

Bradford has the second highest proportion in England and Wales outside London, in terms of population (behind Birmingham) and in percentage (behind Slough, Leicester, Luton and Blackburn with Darwen).

The Brontë sisters, Emily, Anne, and Charlotte were born along with their brother Branwell at 74 Market Street in Thornton, now in Bradford, before moving to the parsonage at Haworth in the heart of West Yorkshire's Brontë Country where they wrote a range of classics of English literature including "Wuthering Heights" and "Jane Eyre".

A mural on the back of the Priestley Centre For The Arts in Little Germany commemorates the centenary of the founding of the Independent Labour Party in Bradford in 1893.

[19][20] The 1st/6th Territorial Battalion of The Prince of Wales's Own West Yorkshire Regiment first saw action in 1915 at Neuve Chapelle before moving north to Yser Canal near Ypres.

One of the first cinema shows outside London took place on the site where the museum now stands, in a music hall known as the People's Palace.

[23] In 1989, a section of the Muslim community led a campaign against Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, and caught the attention of the international media by publicly burning a copy of the book.

The Ouseley Report, written shortly before the riots broke out, noted that Bradford had become deeply divided by segregated schooling, with communities deeply ignorant of each other, and there was widespread fear of crime and violence which West Yorkshire Police had insufficiently tackled for fear of being branded racist.

[23][26] In one case, a Bradford man whose car was set on fire following his conversion complained to police, but the officer advised him to "stop being a crusader and move to another place.

"[27] In response to the Ouseley Report, approximately £3 million was provided by the Home Office and the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund to regenerate the city.

The village which includes Salts Mill (pictured right) has survived remarkably complete with Roberts Park on the north side of the river recently restored by Bradford Council.

[32] In spite of its undeniably large role in the Industrial Revolution, Bradford's rivers were not polluted beyond redemption, and the streams surrounding the city are now a haven of wildlife.

The designation recognises Bradford's aim to use this history and the local popularity and accessibility of film as a major tool for regeneration, cultural development and social inclusion.

Bradford district has 3636 hectares of upland heathland, including Ilkley Moor where the peat bogs rise to 402 m (1,319 ft) above sea level.

A mural on the back of the Priestley Centre For The Arts (visible from Leeds Road) commemorates the centenary of the founding of the Independent Labour Party in 1893.

Between 2020 and 2022 there was a campaign led by Philip Davies and Robbie Moore, the Conservative MPs for Shipley and Keighley, for their constituencies to break away from Bradford.

[71][72][73] Moore promoted a private member's bill which would have allowed a referendum to be held on the matter, but it did not proceed beyond its second reading in the House of Commons in 2022.

[87] Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, Ilkley's Cow and Calf Rocks, Bradford's National Science and Media Museum, Bradford City Park, Cartwright Hall, Saltaire village (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and Salts Mill are key attractions that draw visitors from across the globe.

[90] The economy of Bradford is worth around £9.5 billion, contributing around 8.4% of the region's output, and making the district the third largest after Leeds and Sheffield in Yorkshire & Humber.

The city's service-sector economy accounts for 77% of the district's 195,000 jobs, with today's fastest-growing sectors including information technology, financial services, tourism and retail headquarters and distribution.

[92] The district is home to a number of large businesses with recognised brands operating on a national and international scale such as Morrisons, Pace Plc and Hallmark Cards.

The Wharfedale line connects direct to Ilkley, Ben Rhydding, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Menston, Guiseley, Baildon, Shipley and Frizinghall railway stations with Bradford Forster Square.

The Airedale line connects the stations at Morecambe, Lancaster, Settle, Carlisle, Skipton, Steeton & Silsden, Keighley (change for the Brontë Country and the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway), Crossflatts, Bingley, Saltaire (UNESCO World Heritage Site) and Shipley, continuing to either Frizinghall and Bradford Forster Square or to Leeds to the east of the district.

Bradford Interchange, via the Calder Valley line, also connects direct to stations at Manchester, Halifax, Rochdale, Burnley, Blackburn, Preston, Poulton-le-Fylde, Blackpool, Huddersfield, Wakefield, Doncaster, Chester, Warrington, and London King's Cross.

Leeds Bradford Airport itself is located in Yeadon, about 10 miles (16 km) to the north-east of the city centre, and has both charter and scheduled flights to destinations within Europe plus the United States, Egypt, Pakistan, and Turkey.

Another motorway was planned in the 1970s, envisaging a link between Bradford, the Aire valley in the north of the district, and the M65 at Colne, roughly mirroring the existing A650 road.