Transactions in Planning and Urban Research
Although urban China may display aspects of uniqueness, these novel features of Chinese cities are not exceptional and nor do they exist in silos disconnected from the rest of the world. Instead, Chinese cities are intricately connected to other contexts and are parts of wider transnational and global processes. At the same time, however, many aspects of China’s urbanisation and its future trajectory are not pre-defined by existing theories and instead require both contextual and comparative research (Robinson, 2016). We therefore believe that urban China can provide fertile ground to critically reflect on existing theories and create new concepts, as well as become a launching pad to establish dialogues with other contexts.
As a research field, ‘Urban China’ is growing rapidly and is one of the most active, dynamic, and well-connected. The research field is situated at the conjuncture of China Studies which comes from the tradition of area studies. It is oriented towards historical, cultural, and political contexts and Urban Studies which treats Chinese urbanisation as part of political, economic, environmental, and social-cultural changes of the (de-)globalising world. Whilst both research traditions have contributed greatly towards a better understanding of urban China, we felt that there is a need for a journal that can bridge the two and treat Chinese urbanisation in a holistic, reflexive, grounded way without being confined to historical and cultural specificities. As such, it is time to introduce a journal that pays particular attention to recent developments in China and their policy implications, while situating this research in comparative perspectives within wider urban processes.
| Fangzhu Zhang | University College London, UK |
| Zhigang Li | Wuhan University, China |
| Hamnett Chris | Kings College London, UK |
| Yang Xiao | Tongji University, China |
| Zheng Wang | City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong |
| Yawei Chen | TU Delft, Netherlands |
| C. Cindy Fan | University of California, Los Angeles, USA |
| Philip Harrison | University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa |
| Shenjing He | The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China |
| You-tien Hsing | University of California, Berkeley, USA |
| Youqin Huang | State University of New York, USA |
| Andy Jonas | University of Hull, UK |
| George C.S. Lin | The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China |
| John R. Logan | Brown University, USA |
| Julie, T. Miao | The University of Melbourne, Australia |
| Nicholas Phelps | The University of Melbourne, Australia |
| Junxi Qian | The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China |
| Hyun Bang Shin | London School of Economics and Political Science, UK |
| Nick Smith | Barnard College, USA |
| Thierry Theurillat | University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Western Switzerland, Switzerland |
| Ya Ping Wang | University of Glasgow, UK |
| Cecilia Wong | The University of Manchester, UK |
| Max Woodworth | The Ohio State University, USA |
| Fulong Wu | University College London, UK |
| Weiping Wu | Columbia University, USA |
| Wei Chen | Wuhan Planning Institute, China |
| Shuping Cui | Jiangsu Urban and Rural Development Researh Center, China |
| Lingyun Fan | Suzhou University of Science and Technology, China |
| Jiang Gu | Huazhong Normal University, China |
| Canfei He | Beijing University, China |
| Donghua He | Guangzhou Planning Institute, China |
| Hong Leng | Harbin Institute of Technology, China |
| Xun Li | Sun Yat-sen University, China |
| Yi Li | Hobai University, China |
| Helin Liu | Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China |
| Jiayan Liu | Tsinghua University, China |
| Yuting Liu | South China University of Technology, China |
| Yong Luo | Guangdong Provincial Planning Institute, China |
| Fenghua Pan | Beijing Normal University, China |
| Zhenghan Qian | LAY-OUT Planning Consultants Co., Ltd., China |
| Bo Qin | Renmin University of China, China |
| Chi Shen | National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China |
| Jie Shen | Fudan University, China |
| Nan Shi | China Planning Society, China |
| Bindong Sun | East China Normal University, China |
| Kai Wang | China Academy of Urban Planning and Design (CAUPD), China |
| Xingping Wang | Southeast University, China |
| Haixian Xu | Jiang Provincial Urban Planning and Design Research Institute, China |
| Miao Xu | Chongqing University, China |
| Jingxiang Zhang | Nanjing University, China |
| Tianjie Zhang | Tianjin University, China |
| Zhenhua Zhen | Wuhan Land Use and Urban SpatialPlanning Research Center (WLSP), China |
Manuscript Submission Guidelines: Transactions in Planning and Urban Research
Please read the guidelines below then visit the Journal’s submission site https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tup to upload your manuscript. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned. Remember you can log in to the submission site at any time to check on the progress of your paper through the peer review process.
SAGE Publishing disseminates high-quality research and engaged scholarship globally, and we are committed to diversity and inclusion in publishing. We encourage submissions from a diverse range of authors from across all countries and backgrounds.
Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of Transactions in Planning and Urban Research 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, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you, 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. Please see our guidelines on prior publication and note that Transactions in Planning and Urban Research will consider submissions of papers that have been posted on preprint servers; please alert the Editorial Office when submitting (contact details are at the end of these guidelines) and include the DOI for the preprint in the designated field in the manuscript submission system. Authors should not post an updated version of their paper on the preprint server while it is being peer reviewed for possible publication in the Journal. If the article is accepted for publication, the author may re-use their work according to the Journal's author archiving policy.
If your paper is accepted, you must include a link on your preprint to the final version of your paper.
If you have any questions about publishing with SAGE, please visit the SAGE Journal Solutions Portal.
- 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
2.6 Research Data - 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 Identifiable information
4.4 Supplemental material
4.5 Reference style
4.6 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
7.1 Appealing the publication decision
Before submitting your manuscript to Transactions in Planning and Urban Research please ensure you have read the Aims & Scope.
Aims & Scope
China’s massively accelerated urbanisation presents a laboratory for researchers to observe economic, social, and governance changes in the contemporary world. To understand Chinese urbanisation requires both contextual and comparative research. Known as ‘Urban China Research’ in Planning and Urban Studies, this research field is growing rapidly. It is situated in the conjuncture of China Studies oriented towards historical, cultural, and political contexts and Planning and Urban Studies treating Chinese urbanisation as part of political, economic, and social changes in the globalising world.
Transactions in Planning and Urban Research will make an original contribution to academic and policy debate related to the phenomenal urban development of - planning practices in - China. In addition to investigating historical and geographical processes of Chinese development, the journal explores urban China in the wider global context and seeks meaningful connection between interpretative analysis and planning policy development. The journal publishes peer-reviewed academic papers of around 8,000 words and shorter 2,000 to 4,000 words critical commentaries that address key policy developments or theoretical debates that affect Chinese urban and regional development. The journal will focus on recent developments in China, and their policy implications, while situating the research in comparative perspectives within wider processes.
- Original article: 6,000-8,500 words inclusive of abstract, references and endnotes.
- Annual keynote article from an invited academic (6,000 – 8,500 words including ref) + one commentary paper from an invited academic (3,000–5,000 words including ref). Abstract and keywords are required.
- Critical debate article: Reflections and debate of a particular topic/field of research OR the latest policy and planning practices in China. For reflections on policies and planning practice there is no academic literature review required. 3,000-5,000 words inclusive of references. Abstract and keywords are required.
- Special issue: One special issue per year, 4-9 papers (6,000-8,5000 words) + 1 guest editorial introduction (5000 words) inclusive of abstract, keywords, references.
There is no limit for the number of references for all submitted manuscripts.
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
For information and guidance on how to make your article more discoverable, visit our Gateway page on: How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online.
Transactions in Planning and Urban Research adheres to a rigorous double-blind reviewing policy in which the identity of both the reviewer and author are always concealed from both parties.
SAGE does not permit the use of author-suggested (recommended) reviewers at any stage of the submission process, be that through the web-based submission system or other communication.
Reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Our policy is that reviewers should not be assigned to a paper if:
- The reviewer is based at the same institution as any of the co-authors.
- The reviewer is based at the funding body of the paper.
- The author has recommended the reviewer.
- The reviewer has provided a personal (e.g. Gmail/Yahoo/Hotmail) email account and an institutional email account cannot be found after performing a basic Google search (name, department and institution).
The Editor or members of the Editorial Board may occasionally submit their own manuscripts for possible publication in the Journal. In these cases, the peer review process will be managed by alternative members of the Board and the submitting Editor/Board member will have no involvement in the decision-making process.
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.
Per ICMJE recommendations, it is best practice to obtain consent from non-author contributors who you are acknowledging in your paper.
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.
Transactions in Planning and Urban Research 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
Transactions in Planning and Urban Research encourages authors to include a declaration of any conflicting interests and recommends you review the good practice guidelines on the SAGE Journal Author Gateway.
At SAGE we are committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research. Where relevant, Transactions in Planning and Urban Research encourages authors to share their research data in a suitable public repository subject to ethical considerations and where data is included, to add a data accessibility statement in their manuscript file. Authors should also follow data citation principles. For more information please visit the SAGE Author Gateway, which includes information about SAGE’s partnership with the data repository Figshare.
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
Transactions in Planning and Urban Research 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
Transactions in Planning and Urban Research 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 LaTex template is available on the Manuscript Submission Guidelines page of our Author Gateway.
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.
Where a journal uses double-blind peer review, authors are required to submit:
- A version of the manuscript which has had any information that compromises the anonymity of the author(s) removed or anonymised. This version will be sent to the peer reviewers.
- A separate title page which includes any removed or anonymised material. This will not be sent to the peer reviewers.
See https://sagepub.com/Manuscript-preparation-for-double-blind-journal for detailed guidance on making an anonymous submission.
Figures supplied in colour will appear in colour online.
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 supplemental files.
Transactions in Planning and Urban Research 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.
4.6 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.
Transactions in Planning and Urban Research is hosted on SAGE Track, a web based online submission and peer review system powered by ScholarOne™ Manuscripts. Visit https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/tup 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 unique and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher, even those who share the same name, 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 recognized.
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. The affiliation listed in the manuscript should be the institution where the research was conducted. If an author has moved to a new institution since completing the research, the new affiliation can be included in a manuscript note at the end of the paper. 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 made available to the corresponding author via our editing portal SAGE Edit or by email, and corrections should be made directly or notified to us 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 Transactions in Planning and Urban Research editorial office as follows:
Zheng Wang zheng.wang@sheffield.ac.uk
7.1 Appealing the publication decision
Editors have very broad discretion in determining whether an article is an appropriate fit for their journal. Many manuscripts are declined with a very general statement of the rejection decision. These decisions are not eligible for formal appeal unless the author believes the decision to reject the manuscript was based on an error in the review of the article, in which case the author may appeal the decision by providing the Editor with a detailed written description of the error they believe occurred.
If an author believes the decision regarding their manuscript was affected by a publication ethics breach, the author may contact the publisher with a detailed written description of their concern, and information supporting the concern, at publication_ethics@sagepub.com