On 28 April, 2005 the Nuremberg industrial region was admitted by the Minister Conference for Regional Development, abbreviated MKRO, to the select circle of eleven German metropolitan regions.

Already today, it belongs to the 10 largest industrial centres in Germany. The metropolitan core is comprised of twelve rural districts and eight independent cities. The metropolitan network is comprised of eight rural districts and three independent cities.

An organisation model has been developed, with the democratic core section as the governing council. 54 rural district administrators, lord mayors and mayors decide there about the strategies of the European metropolitan Region of Nuremberg. In six specialised forums, around 400 persons from the entire metropolitan region work closely together.