Journal profile · Multiple
Cities & Health
ISSN 2374-8834 · eISSN 2374-8842
Cities & Health: impact factor 1.9 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 195 days to acceptance (97 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 39% (journal website); 185 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, Cities & Health's largest topics are Urban Green Space and Health, Urban Transport and Accessibility and Health disparities and outcomes, together about 39.6% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Cities & Health has been established to support human and planetary health by sharing the latest international research and practice for urban health and health equity. Our mission is to provide practitioners, researchers and communities with a platform to share, discuss problems and shape solutions from a spatial planning, urban design and physical city governance perspective. From climate change to the digital city, from city leadership to community resilience, cities all over the world are in transition. The journal covers a wide range of topics, however a spatially led view on public health and the health of our natural systems needs to be at the heart of the research we publish. Cities & Health specialises in the governance, management, design and planning of physical urban form, including built and natural environments, in relation to population health, planetary health and health equity outcomes. The focus of the journal is urban spatial impact and change, which may be through city governance, design, planning or management, and/or citizen involvement. We welcome contributions from researchers and practitioners, and from communities and politicians, working for healthier cities. As such, we offer a range of submission types, including Original Scholarship, Reviews, Case Studies, City Shorts, Commentary & Debates, Reflective Praxis Articles, Visual Design Essays and Travelogues. We ask for all authors to consider the visual and graphic aspect to knowledge communication, and encourage location and case study plans, logic models and conceptual diagrams, and photos and images to illustrate the local urban form, where relevant. Contributions can explore a broad range of disciplines, including, but not limited to: Built environment, including: Urban design Planning Architecture Transport Landscape City governance Public health, including: Epidemiology Health economy Public health advocacy Community health Experts in other relevant fields, including: Psychology Human behaviour Geography Environmental resources Cultural studies Communications All full research articles are subject to initial appraisal by the Editor. If they are found within scope and suitable for further consideration will by default be sent for blinded peer review by at least two, independent, anonymous expert referees. Shorter submissions, such as commentaries, city case studies and event reviews will be reviewed by at least one blinded reviewer. Author Benefits Cities & Health aims to de
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Multiple
Editor-in-chief Marcus GrantPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 8%); most named United Kingdom 4, Germany 2, Netherlands 2, Mainland China 1, Hong Kong, China 1 (12 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Urban Green Space and HealthEnvironmental Science17.1%
- Urban Transport and AccessibilitySocial Sciences13.7%
- Health disparities and outcomesSocial Sciences8.8%
- Global Public Health Policies and EpidemiologyBusiness, Management and Accounting7.3%
- Climate Change and Health ImpactsEnvironmental Science6%
- Noise Effects and ManagementHealth Professions6%
- Place Attachment and Urban StudiesSocial Sciences4.9%
- Urban Agriculture and SustainabilityAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- CiteScore Q1 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
ESCILetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
ScopusPublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 4.5Publisher website ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.56Publisher website ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.84Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 39OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 208OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.91OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 15.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 27.44%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 174LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 285,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 895 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 129 | 55 | 26 |
| 2025 | 185 | 84 | 335 |
| 2024 | 116 | 58 | 462 |
| 2023 | 81 | 48 | 571 |
| 2022 | 83 | 41 | 713 |
| 2021 | 59 | 25 | 663 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
195 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 123 days – 278 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 29 days (97 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 220 days
- Sample
- 97 articles with submission and acceptance dates (337 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 39%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 18 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 107 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 31 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Article types accepted8
- case studieswe offer a range of submission types, including Original Scholarship, Reviews, Case Studies, City Shorts, Commentary & Debates, Reflective Praxis Articles, Visu…Length not stated
- city shortswe offer a range of submission types, including Original Scholarship, Reviews, Case Studies, City Shorts, Commentary & Debates, Reflective Praxis Articles, Visu…Length not stated
- commentary & debateswe offer a range of submission types, including Original Scholarship, Reviews, Case Studies, City Shorts, Commentary & Debates, Reflective Praxis Articles, Visu…Length not stated
- original scholarshipwe offer a range of submission types, including Original Scholarship, Reviews, Case Studies, City Shorts, Commentary & Debates, Reflective Praxis Articles, Visu…Length not stated
- reflective praxis articleswe offer a range of submission types, including Original Scholarship, Reviews, Case Studies, City Shorts, Commentary & Debates, Reflective Praxis Articles, Visu…Length not stated
- reviewswe offer a range of submission types, including Original Scholarship, Reviews, Case Studies, City Shorts, Commentary & Debates, Reflective Praxis Articles, Visu…Length not stated
- travelogueswe offer a range of submission types, including Original Scholarship, Reviews, Case Studies, City Shorts, Commentary & Debates, Reflective Praxis Articles, Visu…Length not stated
- visual design essayswe offer a range of submission types, including Original Scholarship, Reviews, Case Studies, City Shorts, Commentary & Debates, Reflective Praxis Articles, Visu…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Hybrid open access journal (Taylor & Francis Open Select); open access publishing is optional. Model summary
Cities & Health is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability and readers…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Full research articles are initially appraised by the Editor; if in scope, they are sent for blinded peer review by at least two independent, anonymous expert referees. Model summary
All full research articles are subject to initial appraisal by the Editor. If they are found within scope and suitable for further consideration will by default be sent for blinded peer review by at least two, independent, anonymous expert referees.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- ISSN
- 2374-8834
- Electronic ISSN
- 2374-8842
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 10, Issue 5 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Cities & Health
What is the impact factor of Cities & Health?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.9 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; h-index 39.
How long does peer review take at Cities & Health?
Based on the dates recorded on 97 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 195 days (interquartile range 123–278 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 39%. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
Where are the editorial board members of Cities & Health based?
Of the 12 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 8%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (4), Germany (2) and Netherlands (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Cities & Health?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Cities & Health is indexed in ESCI. The journal's website also lists Scopus; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Cities & Health open access, and what is the APC?
Cities & Health is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .