Aims and scope

Urban transformations are of vital importance for the future of humanity and ecosystem Earth. They demand deep and accelerated changes in urban patterns and processes across all spheres of life, and from local to global. New knowledge on the subject, dynamics and directions of urban change is dearly needed to shift current development trajectories in the global North and South towards sustainability.

We invite contributions from any disciplines addressing these issues. The journal seeks to deepen and broaden current understandings theoretically, empirically and methodologically. There is a need for novel perspectives, drawing on ontological and epistemological multiplicity, inter- and transdisciplinary approaches. We welcome comparative research designs, as well as innovative methods and techniques. Special attention will be given to outcomes from science-practice co-production and co-design.

We strive to bring together the broad range of scientific and practice fields working on the causes, patterns, pathways and impacts of urban transformations. The journal aims to unpack and critically examine the complex social, ecological, economic, political and technological processes of transformative urban change. This implies relating different spatial scales, time horizons, action domains and agency forms with a view to develop suitable options for intervention and stewardship. The journal addresses, but is not limited to, the following key topics and their interlinkages:

• Urban relations between people, nature and technology
• Imaginaries, paradigms and discourses of urban transformations
• Interactions between urban change, ecosystems and biodiversity; nature-based solutions
• Transformative agency, governance, policies, planning and capacity
• Urban experimentation, innovation and social learning
• Social, cultural, political, power and justice implications of urban transformations
• Place, space and scale in urban transformations
• Urban (multi-)sectoral and nexus transformations (energy, food, water, mobility, building, waste, etc.)
• Transformation and circularity of built environs and infrastructures (grey, green and blue)
• Digitalisation of urban cultures, economics, politics and infrastructures
• Urban safety, security, risks and resilience
• New urban science, complex urban change dynamics, urbanisation and land transitions
• Relations between urban change dynamics and wider societal transformations
• Global North and South interdependencies, differences and similarities

Authors can choose between five formats of different purpose, length and structure, depending on their background and objectives – see the Submission Guidelines tab for a full list of article types. To enhance uptake and impact, contributions should always synthesize key lessons for science, policy and practice.