Call for papers and special issues

Submission deadline – 20th August 2026

Call for Papers – Journal of Urban Regeneration & Renewal

The Editor, Editorial Board and Publishers of Journal of Urban Regeneration & Renewal are currently welcoming the submission of articles by practitioners and papers by academics on the following subjects:

1. Financing urban regeneration
How do cities develop new funding sources for capital, transportation and infrastructure improvement from the public and private sectors? What is the role of impact funding, climate finance, municipal bonds etc.?

2. Inequalities and economic growth
Best practices in industrial strategy, infrastructure, transport, community participation and cohesion, local government, housing development, and in the transition to net zero. What are the interventions in the skills market required to tackle inequality and economic underperformance? How can the negative externalities of phased-out industries be minimised (including the green transition) with a people-centred and inclusive approach?

3. City leadership and governance
What are the new models of political leadership in cities? How can devolution contribute to regional development? What is the role of city-region mayors? What is the importance of civic leadership, civil society and public officials?

4. Public-private partnerships in regeneration
What new forms of public-private partnership might be developed to deliver urban regeneration projects? What are the alternatives to conventional public-private partnerships?

5. Sustainable development and urban regeneration
What are the relationships and issues that connect contemporary urban regeneration with climate change and its consequences? How can urban regeneration contribute to climate resilience and priorities for improving infrastructure readiness for net-zero in urban areas?

6. Designing safer and healthy cities
How can urban regeneration be used to make urban environments safer, healthier and greener?

7. The impact of mobility on cities
What are the implications for urban regeneration, planning and infrastructure of the advent of smart technology, autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles, improvements in mass transit and non-motorised transport?

8. Housing and housing governance
What are the continuing issues related to the impacts of residential and commercial gentrification in cities globally? How can affordable housing regeneration be financed, developed and included as part of urban regeneration schemes? What is the role of the private sector in delivering affordable housing? Is there a continuing role for social rental housing?

9. Retail change and new forms of retail
What are the trends and impacts in terms of changing retail in the age of online shopping and changing consumer behaviour, and the role of pop-up shops, cargo container zones, replacement uses for physical retail stores, and the impact of the collapse of major retailers in city centres?

10. Coastal regeneration and renewal
What challenges do these communities face because of climate change vulnerability? How can mitigation and adaptation strategies help prevent damage by climate change and SLR? What is the future for seaside resorts?

11. Creative industries and urban regeneration
What lessons can be learned for urban development from success in attracting investment, collaboration and building a strong brand? What is the role for culture and heritage?

12. Tourism and regeneration
What opportunities are there for regeneration through new forms of tourism? What is the impact of ‘overtourism’ on cities? What is the role for regeneration in response to tourism decline in cities?

Submission Instructions

The following types of submissions will be considered for publication:

Practitioner articles: Thought pieces, briefings, case studies and other contributions written by professionals working in regeneration and town and city management. Case studies should address the following questions: What has worked? Why has it worked? What lessons were learned? How could it be done elsewhere? Articles should be 2,000 – 5,000 words.

Research papers: Contributions which present new models, theories and empirical research in urban regeneration and renewal. Implications for management should be included. Research papers can be around 6,000 words.

Contributions to the journal are welcomed from practitioners, consultants and academics. All research papers are subject to double-blind peer-review. All practitioner papers are subject to review by the Editor and Publisher.  A guide for authors, sample copies and other relevant information for submissions are available on the Author Guidelines page here.

Further information about the Journal is available here.

Manuscript submissions and enquiries should be submitted to the Publisher, Julie Kerry, at here.

JURR Previous Special Issues published in the journal

The following Special Issues have been published since 2021:

  • The role of cities in the Green Deal (Volume 15 #1)
  • Levelling Up: Challenges and opportunities in addressing regional inequality (Volume 17 #4)
  • The impact and influence of downtown programmes worldwide (Volume 18 #4)
  • Green Belts – Challenge or opportunity? (Volume 19 #3)

JURR Call for Future Special Issue Themes

Special issue themes should be international in scope and combine practitioner and academic papers; we would welcome proposals on the following themes:

  • Urban regeneration and renewal and geoeconomic and geopolitical disruption
  • Housing crises and urban regeneration
  • Regenerating large local authority housing estates
  • Suburban space and regeneration
  • National urban regeneration policies in Europe, USA and rest of the world
  • ‘Global North’ versus ‘Global South’: ‘Lessons learned’ and knowledge sharing
  • Mega-events and urban regeneration
  • Greening the city and sustainable city regeneration