'''Local Economic Development''' ('''LED''') is an approach to [[economic development]], of note in the [[developing world]] that, as [[local economy|its name implies]], places importance on activities in and by cities, districts and regions. Local economic development combines economic development activities, urban planning, infrastructure development and social development activities to improve local conditions. LED encompasses a range of disciplines including physical planning, economics and marketing, all with the goal of building up the economic capacity of a local area to improve its economic future and the quality of life for all.<ref>http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTURBANDEVELOPMENT/EXTLED/0,,contentMDK:20185186~menuPK:399161~pagePK:148956~piPK:216618~theSitePK:341139,00.html</ref>
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There are more definitions out there. Many countries, development organisations and even locations have created their own definitions.
According to Mpho Chauke, a 3rd year Urban and regional planning at Wits University, Local economic development is a development programme that involves various local stakeholders in stimulating a specific local economy to improve the quality of life of local residents to create a sustainable economy that is resilient and is developed inclusively. The priority is the empowerment of the marginalised groupings of people as well as areas and restoring the dignity that they are stripped of by poverty. Local economic development is an intervention that should make use of the skills and resources of a local community to solve challenges of that area in a way that fits that particular social, economic , political, cultural and historical context.
