Urban Studies adheres to a rigorous double-blind reviewing policy in which the identity of both the reviewer and author are always concealed from both parties. The journal usually seeks at least 3 independent referees and always a minimum of two. Prior to the sending out to referees, editors check that the paper fits with the Mission Statement of the Journal.
If you would like to discuss your paper prior to submission, or seek advice on the submission process please contact the Editor-in-Chief, at l.towers@lbss.gla.ac.uk
Urban Studies has a fully web-based system for the submission and review of manuscripts. All submissions should be made online at http:/mc.manuscriptcentral.coms. Online submission and review of manuscripts is now mandatory for all types of papers.
New User Account
Please log onto the website. If you are a new user, you will first need to create an account. Follow the instructions and please ensure to enter a current and correct email address. Creating your account is a three-step process that takes a matter of minutes to set up. When you have finished, your User ID and password is sent via email immediately. Please edit your user ID and password to something more memorable by selecting 'edit account' at the top of the screen. If you have already created an account but have forgotten your details type your email address in the 'Password Help' to receive an emailed reminder. Full instructions for uploading the manuscript are provided on the website. Please be vigilant in updating your account details if you change address.
New Submission
Before submitting your article please read the guidelines below (Manuscripts, References, Illustrations, Equations, Book Reviews).
Submissions should be made by logging in and selecting the Author Center and the 'Click here to Submit a New Manuscript' option. Follow the instructions on each page, clicking the 'Next' button on each screen to save your work and advance to the next screen. If at any stage you have any questions or require the user guide, please use the 'Get Help Now' button at the top right of every screen. Further help is available through ScholarOne's® Manuscript CentralTM customer support at +1 434 817 2040 x 167.
To upload your files, click on the 'Browse' button and locate the file on your computer. Select the designation of each file (i.e. main document, submission form, figure) in the drop down next to the browse button. When you have selected all files you wish to upload, click the 'Upload Files' button. Review your submission (in both PDF and HTML formats) and then click the Submit button.
You may suspend a submission at any point before clicking the Submit button and save it to submit later. After submission, you will receive a confirmation e-mail. You can also log back into your author centre at any time to check the status of your manuscript.
Please ensure that you submit editable/source files only (Microsoft Word or RTF) and that your document does not include page numbers as the system will generate them for you and then automatically convert your manuscript to PDF for peer review. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for revisions, will be by email.
Revised Submission
Authors submitting revised manuscripts should follow the instructions above to submit through the SAGETRACK system. To create a revision, go to the 'Manuscripts with Decisions' option in your Author Dashboard and select 'create a revision' in the 'Action' column. Authors of all revised submissions should, when prompted, provide information explaining the changes in your manuscript as this will be provided to reviewers. Please also provide clear indicators in the manuscript itself via tracked changes, coloured or bold text.
Manuscripts
1. Articles may be theoretical or empirical, but authors should note that in the case of empirically focused manuscripts the subject matter should be suitably positioned in theoretical and/or conceptual terms. All articles are expected to have original content. They should not have been previously published, nor be under simultaneous consideration by another academic Journal - if this is found to be the case, your paper will be withdrawn immediately.
2. The word restriction on submitted manuscripts is between 4,000 and 8,500 words (including references, notes, appendices, tables and figures) One table or figure will count as approximately half a page of text or 250 words.
3. For revised or resubmitted manuscripts, please ensure that you clearly indicate (via track changes, or coloured / bold text) how you have altered the paper. In your covering letter to the referees, please list how you have responded to each of the referees comments using page numbers where possible.
4. Manuscripts should be typed in double-space with margins of at least 4 cm all round.
5. As our refereeing process is Double Blind (neither Author nor Referee may know each other's identity) it is imperative that submitted manuscripts do not include the authors' details or clues to their identity (please remove names or addresses in headers or footers, acknowledgements etc).
6. A limited number of explanatory footnotes are permissible, and they should be indicated serially within each article by superscripts 1, 2, 3 etc. The notes themselves should be placed at the end of the article. Footnotes should not be used for citations (see References).
7. All measurements should be given in metric units.
8. An abstract not exceeding 150 words should be submitted.
9. Any necessary rights or permissions to reproduce quoted material or illustrations published elsewhere remain the responsibility of the author(s).
References
References should be indicated in the text by the surname of the author(s) with the year of publication as shown below. References to more than one publication by the same author in the same year should be distinguished alphabetically with a, b, c, etc. The abbreviated author and the date references should be placed in parentheses unless the name forms part of the text. The relevant page(s) may be given if necessary. Examples:
(Ball, 1998), (Edwards, 2002a), (Haughton and Hunter, 1994, p. 130) demonstrated that………
If no person is named as author, the name of the appropriate body should be used: e.g. (US Bureau of the Census, 1996).
In the case of multi-authored articles, all authors should be named in the list of References.
The full list of references should be typed in alphabetical order, double-spaced, on a separate sheet at the end of the article, in form of the following examples.
Yeoh, B. S. A. (2004) Cosmopolitanism and its Exclusions in Singapore, Urban Studies, 41, pp. 2431-2445.
Jargowsky, P. (2002) Sprawl, concentration of poverty, and urban inequality, in: G. Squires (Ed.) Urban Sprawl: Causes, Consequences and Policy Responses, pp. 39-72. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
Riddell, R. (2004) Sustainable Urban Planning: Tipping the Balance. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Illustrations
Lettering in illustrations should be large enough to allow the necessary reduction in size for printing. All maps, charts and diagrams should be referred to as 'Fig.' and should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are referred to in the text. Figures should be uploaded as individual files and not be embedded within the article, (instead use "insert Fig 1 here, insert table 1 here, etc). Captions to figures, giving the appropriate figure number, should be typed when prompted on uploading files. A list of captions should also be included at the bottom of your article file, following the references. Copies of illustrations may be submitted with an article for consideration in the first instance. On acceptance, we will require high resolution (600 dpi) JPEG, TIF or EPS files. Authors will be charged for colour illustrations used in hard copy, Where a figure is supplied in colour for online use, please also provide a black and white version of the same for use in print. Where black and white versions have not been provided you will be asked to supply these before your article can be put into production for publication.
Equations
If an article includes equations, these should be input using MathType, or Word's equation editor (equations should not be included in Word text format). Equations must NOT by pasted into the article as word pictures as they must be in editable format. If you are using Word's equation editor, you should set the preferences so that text input is Times (this is the default setting).
Book Reviews
1. A Book Review should normally run to between 1000 and 1500 words, which gives scope for an assessment of the book (or books) and its contribution to knowledge and discussion within the broad field of urban studies. Book reviews should also be submitted online. Unsolicited reviews of books and other material are not normally accepted for publication.
2. Reviews should be typed, with double spacing. Where references are cited in the Review they should follow the conventions listed above.
3. The heading should include the title, author, origin, publisher, date, number of pages and price, as in the following example:
Modernism and the Spirit of the City, IAIN BOYD WHITE, 2003, London: Routledge, 259 pp.; £24.99 paperback, ISBN 0 415 25841 3.
4. No payment is made for reviews, but the contributor is normally allowed to retain the book.
Proofs will be sent to corresponding authors in PDF format via email, if there is sufficient time to do so. They should be corrected and returned within 3 working days. Major alterations or revisions cannot be accepted.
Complimentary copies: Authors will receive a complimentary copy of the journal and an email giving access to a PDF version of the article. Both are sent to the corresponding author for distribution.
