Urban-Econ is a firm of development economists, providing consulting services in all fields related to and supporting economic development. Urban-Econ's specialisation is strengthened by an established national and international network of specialists to ensure integrated and holistic economic solutions to development problems can be provided.

Urban-Econ combines specialised skills, extensive experience, professional ethics and personal service delivery to provide appropriate and practical economically viable solutions. A personal approach in efficient service delivery ensures that the project deliverables align with the clients' needs, therefore equipping the client with the necessary knowledge to make informed decisions.

Economic market forces represent the base motivation for any development issue, may it be financially, environmentally, socially or infrastructurally driven. As a result, economic analyses form the crux of development planning since the economic indicators specify definite guidelines for implementation and decision-making.

The Development process is based on the premise that the identified projects are based on economic market principles. This implies that the projects will be sustainable over long term on account of the inherent development potential of the area and project. It is therefore necessary to determine the economic development potential of the study area. Furthermore, development projects will have to be analysed in terms of their viability and implementation guidelines formulated.

The following economic principles are relevant:

Sustainable development: Optimum development originates in sound and sustainable economic performance. Central to this principle is the need to identify and optimally utilise the comparative advantages of the study area. Based on these comparative advantages, economic development opportunities can be identified. Furthermore, sustainable development requires specific institutional capacity. For the development process to be successful, communities must have capabilities to manage and maintain their own development programmes. This capacity must be structured and channelled into community institutions.

Broadening the economic base: An important development principle underlying economic development is to broadening the economic base of the region. Apart from a general higher level of output, this also implies the following:

- Introducing new activities, which are not currently operational in the area. This means an extension of the production capacity in terms of new products and services.
- Application of new technologies that is not being applied in production processes. This should make the region more competitive.
- Development of SMME's to have a broader representation base on the size of establishments. Size can be expressed in terms of either employment or production.
- Ownership should be broaden to include all members of the community.
- Larger representation of women in all levels of the labour market.

Integrated and holistic development: An integrated and holistic approach to the development planning process is of paramount importance. This implies that the interrelationships between economic activities and other development dimensions such as the social, demographic, institutional, infrastructural, financial and environmental aspects should be carefully considered. The social fabric, with special emphasis on basic needs and human resources development, will be an integrated part of the development strategy. The level of output and the nature of the economy of the region is the net result of the performance of different independent economic sectors. Each economic sector has its specific growth characteristics and location dynamics. In order to enhance economic development it is important to adopt a sectoral approach.