FAQ

The word limit for an Article is 8,500 words and this includes abstract, keywords, appendices and references. Please note that the word count also includes tables and figures, which are counted as 250 words each (please disregard their actual word count). Word limits for other manuscript types can be found below:

• Book reviews: 1,200 – 1,400 words
• Critical commentaries: 4,000 – 6,000 words
• Debates: 6,000 – 10,000 words

The 250 word count for tables and figures is per figure and table, regardless of the number of words in each table. Please disregard the actual number of words in the table/figure. For example, if you have 3 tables and 1 figure, this would be counted as 1,000 words (250 x 4). We advise that you upload your tables and figures separately from your main document to ensure you have an accurate word count.

We have to be strict on word limit as we have limited pagination in the Journal. Try to reduce word count by combining images in figures or amalgamating tables where appropriate. You can also choose to include supplementary material, which will be published online only and not included in the printed issue.

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. Originality, clarity of writing style, logical structure of argument and integrity of empirical data are essential for an article’s acceptance. Authors are asked to submit articles that convey a strong sense of urban place. Relevant contextual background must be provided to enable an international readership to be fully cognizant of the urban location under study. Any local terms must be explained. The article should not assume any prior knowledge of the local setting. Authors are encouraged to reflect on urban debates in this journal and beyond. If you would like to discuss the subject matter of your paper more thoroughly before submitting then please contact Ruth Harkin.

The peer review process can take up to 3 months. However, this is very approximate, please note that it can take longer due to unforeseen circumstances such as reviewers declining to review or returning a review after the agreed deadline, reviewer extension requests and excessive Editor workloads, etc. Visit the Review Process section on our Journal page for a general overview of our review process.

You can contact one of our Editorial Office team for an update on your manuscript.

No, absolutely not. All material submitted to USJ must be exclusive and original. Any paper found to be submitted simultaneously elsewhere will be withdrawn immediately.

If you find that you cannot resubmit a revised paper within the allotted deadline due to unforeseen or unavoidable circumstances then please contact the Editorial Office as soon as possible.

Authors are responsible for obtaining permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere.

For information on your rights as an author, please visit the Sage Rights and Permissions page at: https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/journals-permissions

For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions on the Sage Journal Author Gateway.

Information on permissions can be found at: https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/journals-permissions

Or, you can locate the paper in question online at: http://journals.sagepub.com/home/usj and click on the “…More” menu. Then click on “Information, rights and permissions“, and click on the “Request Permissions” button to request the necessary permissions you need for the article in question.

Can I get further guidance?

Sage has a comprehensive list of instructions for authors here, which includes details of the peer review policy; authorship including generative AI tools; information on manuscript submission and ORCID; Journal contributor’s publishing agreement including Sage Choice and Open Access; statements and conventions that covers acknowledgements, declaration of conflicting interests, funding acknowledgements; and what to expect during the process after acceptance regarding proofs, e-prints, Sage production and OnlineFirst publication.

Urban Studies conforms to the Sage UK House Style and Sage Harvard reference style. You can download the Sage Harvard output style for EndNote here. Save the ens. file to the appropriate folder (normally for Windows C:\Program Files\EndNote\Styles and for Mac OS X Harddrive:Applications:EndNote:Styles). Once you’ve done this, open EndNote and choose “Select Another Style…” from the dropdown menu in the menu bar; locate and choose this new style from the following screen.

Visit the Sage Journal Author Gateway here for information on the entire publishing process at Sage: why you should submit, what happens after acceptance and your open access options. You will also find resources to help encourage citations and maximise the readership and impact of your research.

Download our guidance on Getting Published in Urban Studies here. While these guidance notes particularly seek to help urban scholars in the global south publish in the journal, the advice offered has relevance to all those seeking to publish in the journal and has been translated into Arabic, Chinese, Farsi, French, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

Watch our session on “Publishing academic articles in international journals” on our YouTube channel here.

Read Sage’s guidance to Supplemental Material here.

For any other queries, please contact the Editorial Office here.