Urbana – Urban Affairs & Public Policy

Urbana: Urban Affairs & Public Policy welcomes manuscripts covering a variety of issues related to urbanization and city life, including, but not limited to, urban planning, urban history, literary perspectives on cities, the political economy of urban areas, metropolitan development, cities and international relations, city politics, and local governance. Book reviews on the same subjects are also accepted. Urbana's editorial policies are grounded in responsible scholarship, embracing inclusive approaches to theoretical perspectives and methodologies. The editors welcome contributions from authors worldwide and accept submissions in English and Spanish.


Guidelines

1. All manuscripts must contain original material. However, they may be later published in other venues (i.e., chapters in books) with permission from the journal editors. Manuscripts that are accepted for online publication are the sole purview of Urbana and can be republished as chapters in books or other venues (digitally or in print) at the discretion of the editors of Urbana without the permission of the authors. Authors will be informed of this republication and awarded appropriate royalties as legally designated by the selected publishing house if published in print and online by a third party.

2. The word restriction for submitted manuscripts is between 4,000 and 10,000 words, excluding tables, graphs, and illustrations. Submit the manuscript - title, abstract (150 words), keywords, and text - without any author's identification. Include a separate Word document containing the authors' names, institutional affiliations, countries, emails, and the corresponding author.

3. Manuscripts should be typed in double-space in Times Roman 12 point font with margins of one inch or the equivalent in centimeters. Times Roman 10-point font can be used in illustrations and graphs as appropriate.

4. As our refereeing process is double-blind, it is crucial that submitted manuscripts do not include the authors' details or any indications that might reveal an author's identity.

5. Explanatory footnotes. They should be numbered consecutively.

6. An abstract not exceeding 150 words should be submitted.

7. Any permission to reproduce quoted material or illustrations published elsewhere is the responsibility of the author(s).

8. In-text citations should be according to the most recent APA Manual of Style. Within the text, references are expected to be in parenthetical form. Footnotes for references are not allowed. You can use the free citation generator at http://www.citefast.com/ or any other electronic option you prefer to create citations and have examples from the APA style guide at hand.

9. We recommend that all authors check for grammar before submitting their manuscripts. Please proofread your text before submitting it. There are several options, e.g., asking a colleague proficient in English for proofreading and/or using free online resources, such as https://www.aje.com/grammar-check/ or https://www.grammarcheck.net/

 10. If you need to incorporate revisions in your manuscript, please clearly indicate how you have changed the paper. In your cover letter to the referees, please note how you addressed the suggested changes, using page numbers if necessary.

11.Illustrations should be referred to as Figure X and should be numbered consecutively (i.e., Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.). All graphics should be in a 10-point font. Figures are allowed in both black & white and color. Photographs are permitted in black & white and color. The resolution for all graphics should be suitable for publishing on the Internet. Individual graphics should not exceed 100 KB in size. All graphics should be embedded in the Word document and not submitted separately.

12. The file for the manuscript should not exceed 1 Mb.

Book Reviews

1. A book review should be between 1000 and 1500 words.

2. Reviews should be double-spaced in Times New Roman 12-point font. References should follow the latest APA Manual of Style.

3. The heading should include the title, author, origin, publisher, date, number of pages, and be referenced according to the most recent APA Manual of Style.

4. There will be no payment made for reviews.

Editorial Review Process

Urbana works with a multilevel review process, as follows:

Initial Stage. Once submitted, papers are evaluated by a select group of senior editors to assess the quality of the material and its suitability for publication in Urbana. If there are no objections, then the submission climbs to the external review level. This initial step takes 4 weeks or less.

The Review Process. The senior editors send the submission, anonymously, to external referees, requesting their evaluation of the paper submitted. The external reviewers are required to answer questions about the manuscript's argument, its analysis, and the evidence presented. Within 5 to 8 weeks, the external reviewers are expected to send their complete evaluations and recommendations to the senior editors.

Outcomes of the Review Process. If a paper is accepted for publication with revisions, the senior editors communicate with the author about the changes to be introduced in the manuscript. The author is given a 2- to 3-week deadline for introducing revisions.

Once the revisions are complete, the author resubmits the paper, which is assessed again by members of the editorial board. If there are no impediments, the article is prepared for publication within 2 weeks or less.

Because the atypical academic workload increases in Christmas and Summer time, the evaluation period may be extended by one month or more if the manuscript is submitted in November or July.

If the paper is not accepted for publication, the senior editors communicate with the author, providing a list of comments from the reviewers; the author is encouraged to rewrite the paper (in accordance with the review) and invited to submit again in the future.

If you have questions about your manuscript before you submit it, or need further information about the submission process, please get in touch with Ivani Vassoler at ivani.vassoler@gmail.com

 

Reviewers are valued contributors to the quality of research and the success of academic journals. We appreciate the time you took to prepare this review. Please note that the final responsibility for decisions of acceptance or rejection of a submitted manuscript lies with the journal's editors.

Academic reviewers must provide objective, constructive, and timely feedback on a manuscript's relevance, originality, scientific accuracy, methodology, results presentation, and discussion. Reviewers must also maintain confidentiality, avoid conflicts of interest, and provide both specific comments for the authors and confidential comments for the editor, while always offering a clear recommendation on the manuscript's suitability for publication.

 

 

Urbana-Urban Affairs and Public Policy uses Open Journal Systems (OJS), an open-source journal management platform developed by the Public Knowledge Project. Personal information such as names, email addresses, phone numbers, and institutional affiliations collected through this system is used solely for editorial and publishing purposes.

UN-Habitat: https://unhabitat.org/

International Urban Development Association: https://inta-aivn.org/en/

Urban Institute: https://www.urban.org/

ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability: https://iclei.org/

American Planning Association: https://www.planning.org/

Canadian Urban Institute: https://canurb.org/

Cities Alliance in Latin America and the Caribbean: https://www.citiesalliance.org/