Below is a list of some of the main urban journals which publish articles on cities and urban development in the Global South. Most of these are among the 50 journals that are covered in the in the IHS library’s Articles database that consists of nearly 80,000 articles. In recent years a link to the Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) is provided, and when connected to the EUR network, you can go directly to the article in question.
Aims and scope
The primary aims of the journal are to analyze and assess past and present urban development and management as a reflection of effective, ineffective and non-existent planning policies; and the promotion of the implementation of appropriate urban policies in both the developed and the developing world. Topics covered include urban adaptation to climate change; gentrification and housing; homelessness and welfare services; urban management; public-private sector cooperation; development and planning problems; urban regeneration; neighbourhood conservation and urban design; immigration and international labour migration; urban politics; urban theory; urban governance; smart cities and regions; infrastructure; livability and quality of life; greening; and the complexities of creating sustainable cities.
Aims and scope
The current aims and scope of this journal are formulated as follows: an international journal of critical, heterodox, and interdisciplinary research into the relations between the political and the spatial. It advances debates on the spatialization of politics and the politicization of spatial relations. The journal welcomes original contributions that integrate empirical and theoretical analyses to engage, advance, challenge, and reframe debates about the political. The journal values a wide range of critical and radical perspectives and encourages new theorizations, novel methodologies, and decentring ontologies. This is a global journal that supports and welcomes scholarship produced from and about all regions of the world. It encourages scholarship that engages marginalized and oppressed standpoints and critically engages hegemonic forms of power. The journal aims to push the boundaries and potential of research on the political and the spatial by exploring questions including: What is the status of the political in such research? How does thinking about politics spatially help us understand pressing contemporary concerns in the world? And how can or should researchers act politically through their scholarship?
Note: This seems to represent a shift from the original aims of the journal, and the result is the perception that there has been a reduction in the number of articles relevant to what is happening in the Global South.
Aims and scope
It is a peer-reviewed journal which aims to provide an effective means for the exchange of research findings, ideas and information in the fields of human settlements and environment among researchers, activists and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in low- and middle-income nations and between these and researchers, international agency staff, students and teachers in high-income nations. Most of the papers it publishes are written by authors from Africa, Asia and Latin America. Papers may be submitted in French, Spanish or Portuguese, as well as English - and if accepted for publication, the journal arranges for their translation into English. The journal is also unusual in the proportion of its papers that are written by practitioners.
Aims and scope
This journal is dedicated to the study of urban and rural human settlements: their planning, design, production and management. Urbanization in the developing world in its broadest sense is the main focus. However, increasingly the interrelationships and linkages between cities and towns in the developing and developed worlds are becoming apparent and solutions to the problems that result are urgently required. The economic, social, technological and political systems of the world are intertwined and changes in one region almost always affect other regions. They welcome reports of research on urban issues such as policy and implementation, the links between planning, building and land, finance and management, urban design, the interaction between the natural environment and urban areas the provision of urban services and other related problems. Papers on topics which clearly have broad implications and interrelationships based on the experiences of the developing or developed world will be considered. Submissions exploring these issues within the development context are particularly welcomed. Quality papers, short communications, comments on published papers and reports on relevant conferences from all parts of the world are presented as it is recognized that such urban problems arise everywhere. The journal hopes to contribute to their solution.
Aims and scope
The journal see itself as the leading international journal and a major forum for theoretical and analytical developments in the housing field. The journal only publishes research of the highest quality and impact. It welcomes contributions on housing and housing related issues in any international, national or cross-national context, however the implications for an international readership should be explicit. Contributions to the journal reflect the interdisciplinary nature of housing research and are drawn from many different disciplines including, political science, urban studies, history, social administration, sociology, geography, law, planning and economics. The journal explores a range of academic and policy concerns including, but not limited to:
• linkages between housing and other areas of social and economic policy;
• the role of housing in everyday life and in gender, class and age relationships;
• the economics of housing consumption and housing finance;
• international comparisons and developments;
• issues of sustainability and housing development;
• demographic and social trends and the changing role of housing tenures;
• theoretical and conceptual frameworks for housing studies.
Note: Most of the articles published tend to focus on the North, but some articles on the Global South are found here.
Aims and scope
This is a peer-reviewed journal which provides an interdisciplinary platform for the critical study of development related practices, planning and policy in the Global South. The journal publishes theoretically informed and empirically grounded papers, critical reviews, and viewpoints.
Aims and scope
HBE is a scholarly journal presenting the results of scientific research and new developments in policy and practice to a diverse readership of specialists, practitioners and policy makers. This journal covers the fields of housing, spatial planning, building and urban development. Leading scholars in the field of housing, spatial planning and urban development publish regularly in the journal. It publishes articles from scientists all over the world, both Western and non-Western, providing an international platform for developments in both theory and practice in the fields of housing, spatial planning, building and urban development.
The journal has a wide scope and includes all topics dealing with people-environment relations. Topics concern social relations within the built environment as well as the physicals component of the built environment. As such the journal brings together social science and engineering. HBE is of interest for scientists like housing researchers, social geographers, (urban) planners and architects. In addition, it presents a forum for practitioners to present their experiences in new developments on policy and practice. The journal aims to give international exposure to recent research and policy and practice developments on the built environment and thereby represent a forum wherein re searchers can exchange ideas and develop contacts. The intended audience are scientists as well as policy makers, both in government and in organizations dealing with housing and urban issues.
Aims and scope
This is a refereed journal written by and for researchers, activists, non-governmental organisations, students, teachers, policy makers and practitioners. Our focus is specifically on sustainability planning, policy and politics in relation to theoretical, conceptual and empirical studies at the nexus of equity, justice and the local environment. It is an inclusive forum for diverse constituencies and perspectives to engage in a critical examination, evaluation and discussion of the environmental, social and economic policies, processes and strategies which will be needed in movement towards social justice and sustainability - "Just Sustainabilities" - at the local scale. It only accepts submissions that share their focus. Based on critical research and practical experience, they are particularly seeking submissions from nations and continents representing different levels of income and industrial development and from countries in transition in order to engage in mutual learning and understanding.
Note: In this way this journal has also been able to publish, now and then, material relevant to the Global South.
Aims and scope
This is an international and cross-disciplinary scholarly, open access journal of environmental, cultural, economic and social sustainability of human beings, which provides an advanced forum for studies related to sustainability and sustainable development. It publishes reviews, regular research papers, communications and short notes, and there is no restriction on the length of the papers. The aim is to encourage scientists to publish their experimental and theoretical research relating to natural sciences, social sciences and humanities in as much detail as possible in order to promote scientific predictions and impact assessments of global change and development.
Note: Several IHS staff have published their articles in this journal:
Greiving, S., Schödl, L., Gaudry, K. H., Quintana Miralles, I. K., Prado Larraín, B., Fleischhauer, M., Jácome Guerra, M. M. and Tobar, J. (2021). Multi-risk assessment and management - a comparative study of the current state of affairs in Chile and Ecuador. Sustainability, 13(3), 1366. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13031366
Alade, T.; Edelenbos, J. and Gianoli, A. (2020). A sustainable approach to innovation adoption in light-rail transport. Sustainability, 12(3), 1262, https://doi.org/10.3390/su12031262
Brilhante, O. and Klaas, J. (2018). Green city concept and a method to measure green city performance over time applied to fifty cities globally : influence of GDP, population size and energy efficiency. Sustainability,10 (6), 2031, https://doi.org/10.3390/su10062031
Aims and scope
This journal provides an advanced forum for the dissemination of information on the science and technology of smart cities, publishing reviews, regular research papers (articles) and communications in all areas of research concerning smart cities. Topics include:
- Information and communication technology (ICT) in the smart city;
- Internet of Things (IoT) for smart cities;
- Smart sensing;
- Smart grids and smart infrastructures;
- Smart transportation and mobility;
- Smart energy;
- Smart buildings;
- Smart food and agriculture;
- Smart governance;
- Smart people;
- Smart economy;
- Smart healthcare;
- Smart living.
Aims and scope
This is an international peer-reviewed journal for urban scholarship. They welcome all original submissions that further the understanding of the urban condition and the rapid changes taking place in cities and regions across the globe. Contributions are welcome from across the full range of social science disciplines and are expected to advance empirical and theoretical knowledge of the urban from both positive and normative perspectives. The journal prefers contributions which move beyond the profiling of specific cities or phenomena that are relevant only to single or an extremely limited number of locations. Rather the journal seeks contributions that focus on matters that are intrinsically urban in nature and studies into urban process and urban outcomes that, while grounded in specific locations, contribute to a wider urban theory.
photo by Ji Ying on Unsplash