Consolidating Local Economic Development in Post-Apartheid South Africa

Since the release in 2006 of a national coordinated framework, a new policy maturity has emerged in South Africa around the planning of local economic development (LED). In this article, key issues are explored for the consolidation of LED as an important aspect of development planning in postapartheid South Africa. Five significant themes are identified as central to the consolidation of LED, namely, the linkages of LED within wider spatial planning frameworks, learning good practices for LED especially in terms of cluster development, data issues and the identification of competitive advantage, the appropriate role of LED in the context of 'the urban future', and capacity challenges facing LED.