The National Planning Report of 2006, published by the Danish Environment Ministry, argued that "East Jutland is developing into a coherent area with high population growth and division of labour between the cities in the urban band that extends from Kolding to Randers" and foresaw "the contours of a future million-city".

[7] The metropolitan area is a major hub for education and is home to many large companies; in particular in the sectors of food production, agriculture, renewable energy and green tech.

With modern facilities, it handles approximately 12 million tonnes of cargo (2006) per year and is therefore among the 100 biggest container ports in the world.

[8] Greater Aarhus boasts a unique position in the global wind energy market.

An array of suppliers and subcontractors, covers the entire supply chain and the sector benefits from a solid political backing of wind energy on local, regional and national level.

The wind business cluster here has a long legacy of cooperation between manufacturers, suppliers, scientific communities and public authorities.

[14] The Aarhus area was classified in a 2005 ESPON (European Spatial Planning Observation Network) report as a Category 3 MEGA.