Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space
Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space is a pluralist and heterodox journal of economic research, principally concerned with questions of urban and regional restructuring, globalization, inequality, and uneven development.
Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space (ISSN: 0308-518X print; ISSN 1472-3409 online), which is available only as part of the subscription to Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space (ISSN: 2514-8486 print, 2514-8494 online), is published eight times a year in February, March, May, June, August, September, October, and November by SAGE (Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC, and Melbourne). The combined subscription to Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space and Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space comprises twelve issues. For information about subscribing to the package please click here.
Visit the other journals from the Environment and Planning suite:
Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science
Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space
Environment and Planning D: Society and Space
Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space
This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space is a pluralist and heterodox journal of economic research, principally concerned with questions of urban and regional restructuring, globalization, inequality, and uneven development. International in outlook and interdisciplinary in spirit, the journal is positioned at the forefront of theoretical and methodological innovation, welcoming substantive and empirical contributions that probe and problematize significant issues of economic, social, and political concern, especially where these advance new approaches. The horizons of Economy and Space are wide, but themes of recurrent concern for the journal include: global production and consumption networks; urban policy and politics; race, gender, and class; economies of technology, information and knowledge; money, banking, and finance; migration and mobility; resource production and distribution; and land, housing, labor, and commodity markets. To these ends, Economy and Space values a diverse array of theories, methods, and approaches, especially where these engage with research traditions, evolving debates, and new directions in urban and regional studies, in human geography, and in allied fields such as socioeconomics and the various traditions of political economy.
| Jamie Peck | University of British Columbia, Canada |
| Jennifer Bair | University of Virginia, USA |
| Trevor Barnes | University of British Columbia, Canada |
| Brett Christophers | Uppsala University, Sweden |
| Desiree Fields | University of California, Berkeley, USA |
| Mark Graham | Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford |
| Kathe Newman | Rutgers University, USA |
| Jessie Poon | University at Buffalo, the State University at New York |
| Susanne Soederberg | Queen’s University, Canada |
| Henry Yeung | National University of Singapore, Singapore |
| Sir Nigel Thrift | Tsinghua University, China |
| Sir Alan Wilson | University College London, UK |
| Katie Nudd | Freelance Editorial Office, UK |
| Andrew Shmuely | Freelance Editorial Office, Canada |
| Ilias Alami | Uppsala University, Sweden |
| Hannah Appel | University of California, Los Angeles, USA |
| Martín Arboleda | Universidad Diego Portales, Chile |
| Marc Boeckler | Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, Germany |
| Sébastien Breau | McGill University, Canada |
| Neil Brenner | University of Chicago, USA |
| Rosemary-Claire Collard | Simon Fraser University, Canada |
| Kean Fan Lim | Newcastle University, UK |
| Koen Frenken | Utrecht University, Netherlands |
| Melissa Garcia-Lamarca | Lund University, Sweden |
| Vinay Gidwani | University of Minnesota, USA |
| Adam Hanieh | University of Exeter, UK |
| Leigh Johnson | University of Oregon, USA |
| Sarah Knuth | Durham University, UK |
| Karen Lai | Durham University, UK |
| Yong-Sook Lee | Korea University, South Korea |
| Andrew Leyshon | University of Nottingham, UK |
| Phoebe Moore | University of Essex, UK |
| Beverley Mullings | University of Toronto, Canada |
| Stefan Ouma | Universität Bayreuth, Germany |
| Balaji Parthasarathy | International Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore, India |
| Shaina Potts | University of California, Los Angeles, USA |
| Raquel Rolnik | Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil |
| Emily Rosenman | Penn State University, USA |
| Cheryll Ruth Soriano | De La Salle University, Philippines |
| Kanchana Ruwanpura | University of Gothenburg, Sweden |
| Ramesh Sunam | Waseda University, Japan |
| Michaela Trippl | University of Vienna, Austria |
| Alan Walks | University of Toronto, Canada |
| Isabella Weber | University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA |
| Rachel Weber | University of Illinois at Chicago, USA |
| Marion Werner | SUNY, Buffalo, USA |
| Heather Whiteside | University of Waterloo, Canada |
| Dariusz Wójcik | University of Oxford, UK |
| Chun Yang | Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong |
| Shengjun Zhu | Peking University, China |
Manuscript Submission Guidelines: Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space
This Journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics
Please read the guidelines below then visit the Journal’s submission site https://mc04.manuscriptcentral.com/epa to upload your manuscript. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned.
Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space will be reviewed.
There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this Journal. Open Access options are available - see section 3.3 below.
As part of the submission process you will be required to warrant that you are submitting your original work, that you have the rights in the work, that you are submitting the work for first publication in the Journal and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you.
Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the editorial office as follows: katie.nudd@fl.nudd.org.uk
- What do we publish?
1.1 Aims & Scope
1.2 Article types
1.3 Writing your paper - Editorial policies
2.1 Peer review policy
2.2 Authorship
2.3 Acknowledgements
2.4 Funding
2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests - Publishing policies
3.1 Publication ethics
3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement
3.3 Open access and author archiving - Preparing your manuscript
4.1 Formatting
4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics
4.3 Supplementary material
4.4 Reference style
4.5 English language editing services - Submitting your manuscript
5.1 ORCID
5.2 Information required for completing your submission
5.3 Permissions - On acceptance and publication
6.1 Sage Production
6.2 Online First publication
6.3 Access to your published article
6.4 Promoting your article - Further information
Before submitting your manuscript to Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, please ensure you have read the Aims & Scope.
Original Manuscripts
Articles submitted to the journal are normally 7000 to 9500 words in length. This word limit includes all text in the article (abstract, title page, keywords, acknowledgements, references, and any appendices - Abstracts should be a maximum of 250 words.) as well as visual aids such as maps, images, or figures. Visual aids are calculated based on their size relative to a journal page, which is 500 words (eg, a half-page figure would count as 250 words). Submissions that exceed this word limit may be returned for reduction prior to review.
A separate title page with full contact details (including email addresses) of all authors and any acknowledgements you would like to make, should be uploaded separately from the main document. Identifying information should not be included in your main document or any other uploaded file besides the title page.
Commentaries
Commentaries are editorial interventions, normally relating to topical events and developments. (Those concerned with scholarly debates, or with theoretical/methodological interventions, are directed to the Exchanges section of the journal; see below). Commentaries are normally 1000 to 3000 words in length, including everything. Visuals and graphics are calculated based on their size relative to a journal page, which is 500 words (eg, a half-page figure would count as 250 words). Submissions that exceed this overall word limit may be returned for reduction prior to review. Commentaries are reviewed internally by editors.
Please choose “Commentary” under Manuscript Type on step 1. Proceed through the steps following the instructions at the top of each page. During file upload, you may choose to designate the Commentary as a main document (anonymisation in this case is not required).
Exchanges
Exchanges may be interventions in scholarly debates; critical commentaries on intellectual projects or fields of inquiry; or discussions of theory, methodology, ethics, and the politics of knowledge. (Shorter editorials, and contributions concerned with topical events and developments, are directed to the Commentary section of the journal; see above). Exchanges are normally 2500 to 4500 words in length, including everything. Visuals and graphics are calculated based on their size relative to a journal page, which is 500 words (eg, a half-page figure would count as 250 words). Submissions that exceed this overall word limit may be returned for reduction prior to review. Exchanges are reviewed internally by the journal’s editorial board.
Please choose “Exchanges” under Manuscript Type on step 1. Proceed through the steps following the instructions at the top of each page. During file upload, you may choose to designate the Exchanges as a main document.
Theme Issue Proposals
Please send theme issue proposals to Katie Nudd (katie.nudd@fl.nudd.org.uk). Note that we do not consider theme issue proposals that are also being considered by other journals.
Typically, proposals for theme issues should contain 4–9 potential papers. In 1–2 pages, theme issue guest editors should provide an overview of the theme issue, its central contribution, and its distinctiveness. Proposals should demonstrate how the papers contribute and engage with the chosen theme. They must contain a summary abstract describing the theme issue as a whole (150-200 words). This should be followed by abstracts and brief author bios for each of the proposed papers. Guest editors need not submit their introductory paper at the submission stage; this will be requested once the review process is complete and the final line-up of papers is known. Proposals are reviewed internally by our Editors. (Note that we have a general guideline of one lead-authored paper per contributor.) Theme guest editors should also nominate a potential EPA: Economy and Space editor who they deem to be appropriate for handling their theme issue should the proposal be accepted.
If proposals are accepted, one of the EPA: Economy and Space Editors will be assigned to handle the theme issue. A deadline for paper submission will be agreed with the guest editors, who will be requested to provide suggestions for potential referees on acceptance of the proposal (and prior to the submission of individual papers). Detailed information sheets will be sent to guest editors upon acceptance of the proposal. These will contain further details and instructions for both guest editors and authors; it is the responsibility of the guest editors to follow these instructions and to forward the author instructions to the contributors to the theme issue.
Each of the papers will be reviewed independently according to our standard review procedures for original paper submissions. The abstract for the theme issue will be included with each paper as it is submitted for review, for the benefit of referees. Theme issues will be scheduled for print publication once the final paper in the collection is accepted. In the (quite rare) event that fewer than three papers are eventually accepted, these will be published as “regular” papers and not as a theme issue.
The Sage Author Gateway has some general advice and on how to get published, plus links to further resources. Sage Author Services also offers authors a variety of ways to improve and enhance their article including English language editing, plagiarism detection, and video abstract and infographic preparation.
1.3.1 Make your article discoverable
When writing up your paper, think about how you can make it discoverable. The title, keywords and abstract are key to ensuring readers find your article through search engines such as Google. For information and guidance on how best to title your article, write your abstract and select your keywords, have a look at this page on the Gateway: How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online
All manuscripts submitted to Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space are subject to a double anonymize peer review process in which the author’s name is withheld from the reviewer and vice versa. All papers are reviewed by at least 2 individuals; normally 3.
All parties who have made a substantive contribution to the article should be listed as authors. Principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits should be based on the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status. A student is usually listed as principal author on any multiple-authored publication that substantially derives from the student’s dissertation or thesis.
Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.
All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.
Please supply any personal acknowledgements separately to the main text to facilitate anonymous peer review.
2.3.1 Third party submissions
Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:
• Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input
• Identify any entities that paid for this assistance
• Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.
Where appropriate, Sage reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.
2.3.2 Writing assistance
Individuals who provided writing assistance, e.g. from a specialist communications company, do not qualify as authors and so should be included in the Acknowledgements section. Authors must disclose any writing assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input – and identify the entity that paid for this assistance. It is not necessary to disclose use of language polishing services.
Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading. Please visit the Funding Acknowledgements page on the Sage Journal Author Gateway to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding, or state that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests
Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space encourages authors to include a declaration of any conflicting interests and recommends you review the good practice guidelines on the Sage Journal Author Gateway
Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway
3.1.1 Plagiarism
Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarised other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.
3.1.2 Prior publication
If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a Sage journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication. Please refer to the guidance on the Sage Author Gateway or if in doubt, contact the Editor at the address given below.
3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement
Before publication, Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive licence agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and licence to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information please visit the Sage Author Gateway
3.3 Open access and author archiving
Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice programme and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of charge depending on the agreement with Sage. Find out if your institution is participating by visiting Open Access Agreements at Sage. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access. For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies.
4. Preparing your manuscript for submission
The preferred format for your manuscript is Word. LaTeX files are also accepted. A (La)Tex template is available on the Manuscript Submission Guidelines page of our Author Gateway.
Please use British English rather than US English.
4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics
For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit Sage’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines
Figures supplied in colour will appear in colour online regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. For specifically requested colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Sage after receipt of your accepted article.
4.2.1 Maths
Equations should to be submitted using Office Math ML and Math type.
This journal is able to host additional materials online (e.g. datasets, podcasts, videos, images etc) alongside the full-text of the article. For more information please refer to our guidelines on submitting supplementary files
Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space adheres to the Sage Harvard reference style. View the Sage Harvard guidelines to ensure your manuscript conforms to this reference style.
If you use EndNote to manage references, you can download the Sage Harvard EndNote output file.
4.5 English language editing services
Authors seeking assistance with English language editing, translation, or figure and manuscript formatting to fit the journal’s specifications should consider using Sage Language Services. Visit Sage Language Services on our Journal Author Gateway for further information.
Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space is hosted on Sage Track, a web based online submission and peer review system powered by ScholarOne™ Manuscripts. Visit https://mc04.manuscriptcentral.com/epa to login and submit your article online.
IMPORTANT: Please check whether you already have an account in the system before trying to create a new one. If you have reviewed or authored for the journal in the past year it is likely that you will have had an account created. For further guidance on submitting your manuscript online please visit ScholarOne Online Help.
As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process Sage is a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID. ORCID provides a persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities ensuring that their work is recognised.
The collection of ORCID iDs from corresponding authors is now part of the submission process of this journal. If you already have an ORCID iD you will be asked to associate that to your submission during the online submission process. We also strongly encourage all co-authors to link their ORCID ID to their accounts in our online peer review platforms. It takes seconds to do: click the link when prompted, sign into your ORCID account and our systems are automatically updated. Your ORCID iD will become part of your accepted publication’s metadata, making your work attributable to you and only you. Your ORCID iD is published with your article so that fellow researchers reading your work can link to your ORCID profile and from there link to your other publications.
If you do not already have an ORCID iD please follow this link to create one or visit our ORCID homepage to learn more.
5.2 Information required for completing your submission
You will be asked to provide contact details and academic affiliations for all co-authors via the submission system and identify who is to be the corresponding author. These details must match what appears on your manuscript. At this stage please ensure you have included all the required statements and declarations and uploaded any additional supplementary files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).
Please also ensure that you have obtained any necessary permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please see the Copyright and Permissions page on the Sage Author Gateway
6. On acceptance and publication
Your Sage Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be sent by PDF to the corresponding author and should be returned promptly. Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence and contact details are correct, and that Funding and Conflict of Interest statements, if any, are accurate.
Online First allows final articles (completed and approved articles awaiting assignment to a future issue) to be published online prior to their inclusion in a journal issue, which significantly reduces the lead time between submission and publication. Visit the Sage Journals help page for more details, including how to cite Online First articles.
6.3 Access to your published article
Sage provides authors with online access to their final article.
Publication is not the end of the process! You can help disseminate your paper and ensure it is as widely read and cited as possible. The Sage Author Gateway has numerous resources to help you promote your work. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Gateway for tips and advice.
Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space editorial office as follows: