Darmstadt is situated in the Rhine-Main Region is a poly-centric metropolitan region with a population of around 4.5 million people spread over 12,546 square kilometers. With 650,000 inhabitants the core city Frankfurt is the largest city in Rhine-Main.
Other important cities in the polycentric net are for example Wiesbaden (275,000), Darmstadt (140,000) and Offenbach (120,000).
In comparison with other NWE metropolitan areas the average population density of 359 inhabitants/km2 is quite moderate, but the region is characterised by a high percentage of settlement and traffic areas. Infrastructure projects include new rail lines (the ICE-net German high speed train) and especially Frankfurt Airport in the heart of the region.
This project has received European Regional Development Funding through the INTERREG lll Community Initiative.