Article Type

Manuscript Types & Scientific Article Requirements

Article Types

Journal of Geographical Planning prioritizes original research that demonstrates clear scientific novelty, rigorous spatial analysis, and a substantive contribution to geographical planning, spatial planning, regional development, urban and rural planning, land-use planning, GIS, remote sensing, environmental planning, disaster-risk planning, spatial policy, and sustainable territorial development.

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PRIORITY NOVELTY REQUIRED NON-RESEARCH TYPES LIMITED

The journal gives priority to original research articles. Review articles, case studies, and short communications are accepted selectively when they are strongly aligned with the journal's Focus and Scope and provide clear spatial, geographical, environmental, policy, planning, or territorial-development contributions.

Core Scientific Requirements

Regardless of manuscript type, articles should demonstrate the following core elements:

✓ Clear geographical or planning problem and significance ✓ Adequate state of the art
✓ Explicit research gap / novelty justification ✓ Clearly stated research objective
✓ Appropriate spatial, GIS, remote-sensing, planning, or socioeconomic method ✓ Findings, spatial interpretation, and conclusion supported by evidence
Editorial Priority: Manuscripts without a clear state of the art, research gap or justification of novelty, explicit research objective, and appropriate spatial or planning analysis may receive lower editorial priority or be returned before peer review.
1 Original Research Article PRIMARY TYPE

Original Research Articles are the primary and preferred manuscript type. They must report original findings derived from a systematic research process and demonstrate a clear contribution to geographical planning, spatial analysis, regional development, land-use planning, urban and rural planning, environmental planning, or related fields.

Required characteristics:

  • Relevant geographical, spatial, environmental, socioeconomic, or planning background and clearly defined research problem;
  • Adequate review of current scholarship, spatial-planning approaches, policies, or state of the art;
  • Explicit identification of the research gap;
  • Clear justification of novelty or scientific contribution;
  • Explicit research objective(s), research question(s), or hypotheses where appropriate;
  • Appropriate and sufficiently described GIS, remote-sensing, spatial-statistical, survey, participatory, qualitative, quantitative, modeling, scenario-planning, or other relevant method;
  • Clear description of study area, spatial scale, datasets, maps, imagery, planning documents, sampling, indicators, and analytical procedures where applicable;
  • Clear presentation of findings supported by appropriate spatial, statistical, cartographic, socioeconomic, environmental, or policy evidence;
  • Critical analysis and comparison with relevant geographical, planning, and regional-development literature; and
  • Conclusion that directly responds to the research objective and explains relevant spatial, environmental, planning, policy, social, or territorial implications.
Recommended Structure:
Introduction → Methods → Results → Discussion → Conclusion → Declarations → References
2 Review Article SELECTIVE

Review Articles are considered selectively and must provide a comprehensive, critical, and original synthesis of a clearly defined body of literature in geographical planning, spatial planning, urban and rural development, regional planning, land-use planning, GIS, remote sensing, environmental planning, or related fields.

A high-quality review article should:

  • Present a clearly defined review question or analytical objective;
  • Explain the literature-search and selection approach;
  • Use adequate, relevant, and sufficiently current references;
  • Critically compare previous spatial-planning approaches, geographical models, land-use strategies, analytical methods, policies, and empirical findings;
  • Identify inconsistencies, methodological limitations, spatial conflicts, planning challenges, emerging technologies, and research gaps;
  • Provide original analysis or synthesis by the authors; and
  • Develop a research agenda, planning framework, spatial model, policy synthesis, or substantive conclusion.
Not Acceptable: A literature review that only summarizes previous geographical studies, planning approaches, spatial policies, or publications without critical analysis, synthesis, or an original scholarly contribution.
3 Planning Case Study LIMITED

Planning Case Studies are considered when the case provides significant scientific, spatial, environmental, territorial, policy, or planning relevance and offers transferable insights for geographical planning and regional development.

A Planning Case Study must include:

✓ Clear planning or spatial objective ✓ Case-selection and territorial relevance
✓ GIS, spatial, planning, policy, or socioeconomic analytical approach ✓ Findings and substantive spatial evaluation
✓ Comparison with relevant geographical or planning literature ✓ Clear planning, territorial, environmental, or policy contribution
Not Acceptable: Purely descriptive city, village, regional, or land-use profiles; map collections; planning-document summaries; or territorial narratives without a clear research objective, systematic spatial analysis, evaluation, and scholarly contribution.
4 Short Communication LIMITED

A Short Communication presents concise but important original findings, emerging spatial patterns, land-use changes, planning observations, GIS or remote-sensing results, disaster-risk insights, environmental-planning evidence, or timely territorial developments relevant to the journal's scope.

Although shorter than a full Original Research Article, a Short Communication must still contain sufficient scientific and spatial substance and demonstrate a clear contribution to geographical planning knowledge or practice.

Minimum Scientific Elements:
Objective Method Results Spatial Analysis Conclusion

Manuscript Type Priority

Manuscript Type Journal Priority Main Requirement
Original Research Article HIGH Original findings + state of the art + research gap + novelty + spatial or planning analysis
Review Article SELECTIVE Comprehensive review + current references + critical synthesis + original analysis
Planning Case Study LIMITED Objective + case justification + spatial method + evaluation + planning contribution
Short Communication LIMITED Concise but complete evidence, spatial analysis, and planning relevance

Manuscripts Not Considered

  • Purely descriptive geographical or planning articles without substantive spatial analysis;
  • Opinion articles without a clear scholarly method or evidence base;
  • Literature summaries without critical synthesis;
  • Regional, urban, rural, or village profiles that only present descriptive statistics without analytical interpretation;
  • Map collections or GIS visualizations without a clear research question, spatial methodology, and substantive analysis;
  • Remote-sensing studies without adequate image-processing methods, classification accuracy, validation, or spatial interpretation;
  • Land-use change studies that only report area differences without explaining spatial drivers, patterns, impacts, or planning implications;
  • Planning-document or policy summaries without a clear analytical framework, evidence base, and critical evaluation;
  • Spatial suitability or zoning analyses without transparent criteria, weighting, methodology, validation, and interpretation;
  • Disaster-risk maps without appropriate hazard, vulnerability, exposure, or risk analysis;
  • Conference abstracts submitted without substantial development;
  • Articles outside the journal's Focus and Scope;
  • Previously published manuscripts; and
  • Manuscripts simultaneously submitted to another publication.
Editorial Principle

The journal prioritizes original research that advances geographical knowledge, spatial planning, regional development, and sustainable territorial management. Non-original research formats are considered selectively and must demonstrate clear scientific objectives, methodological rigor, spatial analytical depth, appropriate validation, originality, planning relevance, and strong alignment with the journal's Focus and Scope.