Submit a Manuscript to the Journal
Planning Practice & Research
For a Special Issue on
Circularity and urban planning
Abstract deadline
Manuscript deadline
Special Issue Editor(s)
Ana Ruiz-Varona,
Universidad San Jorge, Zaragoza, Spain
nruiz@usj.es
Jacques Teller,
Université de Liège, Liège , Belgium
jacques.teller@uliege.be
Shu Changxue,
The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong,, China
changxue.shu@hku.hk
Circularity and urban planning
Circularity is increasingly present in urban agendas as a response to climate change, resource consumption, urban renewal, and broader sustainable development challenges. However, despite the growing body of research and policy initiatives, its integration into planning practice and urban policy remains fragmented and underdeveloped across scales.
Following the recent Planning Practice & Research special issue (41.2) addressing the application of circular economy and metabolism principles in urban planning practice, education and research, this special issue places a specific focus on how circularity can become operational within urban and regional planning.
While significant advances have been made in development of analytical frameworks, assessment methods, and computational tools, less attention has been paid to the practical conditions required to implement circularity in urban environments. Questions related to governance arrangements, stakeholder involvement, professional practices, resource management, and local implementation processes remain insufficiently explored.
This special issue invites contributions exploring how circular economy principles related to resource efficiency, material circulation, reuse, regeneration, and sustainable resource management can be incorporated into urban planning, urban policies, and spatial decision-making processes. Contributions addressing different dimensions of circularity, including material and resource flows, food and energy systems, historical environments, and urban systems, are welcome.
Attention will be given to contributions that help transfer circularity from an analytical to an operational perspective, examining how circularity-oriented policies, strategies, and planning approaches are implemented, monitored, and evaluated under real-world conditions and across different spatial scales, from buildings and neighbourhoods to cities and regions. Effective case studies supporting or critically questioning the integration of circularity into planning practice and urban policy are especially welcome.
Relevant topics may include:
- Circular urban and territorial planning policies, tools, and decision-support frameworks.
- Circularity in urban policy and governance.
- Urban regeneration and circular urban development.
- Spatial dimensions of circular urban planning, from system delineation to priority areas and policy implementation.
- Material flow analysis and life cycle assessment in urban planning.
- Urban metabolism and resource flows in urban and regional planning.
- Adaptive reuse of buildings, infrastructure, and urban areas.
- Planning approaches to circular construction and low-impact urban transformation.
- Multi-scale approaches to circularity, from urban blocks to city and regional scales.
- Spatial analysis, GIS, and data-driven approaches supporting circular urban planning and policy.
- Urban observatories, monitoring systems, and spatial evidence for circular transitions.
- Living Labs and participatory approaches for stimulating circular urban development.
- Food systems, energy systems, and circular resource networks in urban and territorial planning.
- Heritage, cultural landscapes, and circular regeneration.
- Comparative international case studies on circular planning and policy implementation.
Submission Instructions
Planning Practice and Research publishes various categories of article. It is important to select the category accurately when submitting a paper to the special issue because we advise reviewers about the criteria for evaluation based on the category. Please indicate the category when submitting an abstract or draft paper to the guest editors. There is drop-down menu for selecting the article type when submitting to the PPR website.
An original research article is based on empirical research, with a problem statement, research question, a critical review of the state of the art, a theoretical position, a methodology, methods and findings. Any type of research design is acceptable.
A review article critically surveys the published research on a specific topic, and if relevant, related practice material. Reviews summarise the nature of the topic, the state of the art (or combinations thereof), explore competing positions and (usually) conclude on future research questions.
A practice review is a short report on a topic of wider interest to the planning community. It may be a specific development project or sample of projects, a planning process (such as citizen engagement), a preliminary exploratory research study, a novel research method, or an education programme. There is no restriction on the subject. The report should be informative and critical, and explain how the case was investigated, although a substantial literature review is not needed.
A comment can be used to raise awareness about an issue and promote discussion without the academic constraints of a research article. It will express a viewpoint or opinion that deserves attention, and is likely to be speculative, although grounded in evidence and knowledge of the topic.
Whatever type of article, please note that PPR is committed to presenting research in an accessible, succinct style, not overly theoretical, but analytical. We do not welcome pretentious or convoluted writing, or over-citation. Authors will find the APA Style Guide useful.
See: https://apastyle.apa.org/about-apa-style.
All submissions must be in English and should be carefully proofread for clarity and grammar. Responsible use of AI is permitted, particularly for copyediting and language improvement. See the Taylor and Francis author services website for more information on AI policy.
The word limit for original research articles and review articles is 7.000 words excluding figures, tables, and the list of references. Practice review articles should be generally less than 5,000 words excluding figures, tables and references although we can allow more if well justified. Comments are limited to 2-4,000 words.
References should be cited in the Harvard author-date style. Any specific style is acceptable, but each reference must include all the relevant information, including the publisher and place of publication. Citations in the text must match the list of references and vice-versa.
Submission Process
Abstracts must be submitted to the guest editors. Please submit an abstract of up to 500 words with author details (names, affiliations, and email addresses) to [nruiz@usj.es].
The Guest Editors will invite authors to submit draft papers to them based on the abstracts.
Authors must submit draft papers to the Guest Editor at [nruiz@usj.es]. It may not be possible to invite all authors of abstracts to ensure coherence of the special issue. Those authors who are not invited may submit to PPR in the normal way.
The Guest Editors may ask for revisions to draft papers.
The Guest Editors will invite authors to submit full papers to the PPR Manuscript Central platform. The submission site is accessible from https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/cppr20.
We look forward to receiving your contributions and sharing innovative research and practices with the wider community. If you have any questions, please contact the guest editor. The PPR editor-in-chief is also available to answer your questions at editor@readppr.com.