Editorial and Publishing Development Plan 2026–2028
Published on: 24 May 2026
The Editorial Board of the Journal of Planner and Development (JPD) announces the adoption of a structured editorial and publishing development plan for the period 2026–2028.
This plan is part of the journal’s institutional commitment to strengthening academic quality, publication ethics, editorial transparency, international readability, digital publishing standards, and readiness for recognized scholarly indexing systems.
Institutional Basis of the Development PlanThe adopted development measures are based on documented decisions of the Editorial Board. These updates are intended to consolidate the journal’s academic mission since its establishment in 1995, while modernizing its editorial, technical, ethical, and publishing procedures.
The development plan does not represent a break with the journal’s history. Rather, it reflects a planned and documented institutional process aimed at improving publishing quality, transparency, digital visibility, and international scholarly engagement.
Main Editorial and Publishing Updates- Updated Manuscript Template: The journal has adopted an updated manuscript template to improve article structure, metadata presentation, citation consistency, declarations, figures, tables, and overall publication quality.
- Updated Author Guidelines: The Author Guidelines have been revised to clarify manuscript types, article structure, abstract requirements, methodological expectations, ethical declarations, references, and submission preparation.
- Peer Review and Editorial Transparency: The journal has strengthened its peer review procedures by clarifying editorial screening, double-blind review, reviewer selection, conflict of interest handling, confidentiality, and editorial decision-making.
- Publication Ethics and Similarity Policy: The journal has updated its publication ethics, plagiarism, similarity, authorship, funding, data availability, AI-use disclosure, and conflict of interest policies to support research integrity.
- Journal Identity and Visual Presentation: The journal has introduced an updated visual identity, including a refined journal logo and improved presentation of journal pages, while maintaining the official journal name, ISSN records, publisher identity, and academic continuity.
As part of this development process, JPD will adopt English as the main language for new manuscript submissions starting from 1 July 2026.
This policy aims to enhance international readability, citation potential, scholarly visibility, and the journal’s readiness for engagement with reputable international indexing and publishing systems.
Manuscripts accepted or already under editorial processing before this date will continue to be handled according to the approved transitional procedures.
Updated Scientific ScopeThe journal has also updated its scientific scope to reflect contemporary research directions in planning and spatial studies. JPD welcomes high-quality scholarly manuscripts in the following areas:
- Urban and Regional Planning Theory and Practice
- Sustainable Development and Environmental Planning
- Urban Design, Housing, and Built Environment
- Spatial Analysis, Geoinformatics, and Planning Technologies
- Urban Systems, Economy, and Socio-Spatial Dynamics
Phase I – 2026: Adoption of the updated manuscript template, revised author guidelines, updated editorial and ethical policies, English-language submission policy, and improved article metadata standards.
Phase II – 2027: Strengthening DOI registration, metadata quality, digital archiving and preservation practices, reviewer database development, editorial workflow documentation, international reviewer participation, and publication regularity monitoring.
Phase III – 2028: Evaluation of published issues under the updated framework, review of visibility and citation indicators, assessment of indexing readiness, and preparation of application files for relevant international indexing and scholarly publishing systems.
Notice to AuthorsAuthors are kindly requested to consult the updated Author Guidelines, use the official JPD Manuscript Template, and review the journal’s editorial and ethical policies before submitting new manuscripts.
Journal of Planner and Development (JPD)
Center of Urban and Regional Planning for Postgraduate Studies , University of Baghdad
