Journal profile · Ecology
Landscape and Urban Planning
ISSN 0169-2046 · eISSN 1872-6062 · Elsevier · NETHERLANDS · Bimonthly · Founded 1986
Landscape and Urban Planning: CAS Zone 1 · Environmental Science & Ecology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 11.48; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,120; review about 217 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); community-reported acceptance: easy; 198 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Landscape and Urban Planning is published by Elsevier and is in Zone 1 of Environmental Science & Ecology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Land Use and Ecosystem Services, Urban Green Space and Health and Urban Heat Island Mitigation, together about 47.5% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
An Interdisciplinary Journal of Landscape Science, Planning and Design.Landscape and Urban Planning is an international journal aimed at advancing conceptual, scientific, and applied understandings of landscape in order to promote sustainable solutions for landscape change. Landscapes are visible and integrative social-ecological systems with variable spatial and temporal dimensions. They have expressive aesthetic, natural, and cultural qualities that are perceived and valued by people in multiple ways and invite actions resulting in landscape change. Landscapes are increasingly urban in nature and ecologically and culturally sensitive to changes at local through global scales. Multiple disciplines and perspectives are required to understand landscapes and align social and ecological values to ensure the sustainability of landscapes. The journal is based on the premise that landscape science linked to planning and design can provide mutually supportive outcomes for people and nature.Landscape science brings landscape ecology and urban ecology together with other disciplines and cross-disciplinary fields to identify patterns and understand social-ecological processes influencing landscape change. Landscape planning brings landscape architecture, urban and regional planning, landscape and ecological engineering, and other practice-oriented fields to bear in processes for identifying problems and analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating desirable alternatives for landscape change. Landscape design brings plans, designs, management prescriptions, policies and other activities and form-giving products to bear in effecting landscape change. The implementation of landscape planning and design also generates new patterns of evidence and hypotheses for further research, providing an integral link with landscape science and encouraging transdisciplinary collaborations to build robust knowledge and problem solving capacity.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Ecology
Editor-in-chief Christian AlbertPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 10 in mainland China (about 8%); most named United States 48, Mainland China 10, Australia 10, Singapore 7, Germany 6 (123 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Land Use and Ecosystem ServicesEnvironmental Science22.1%
- Urban Green Space and HealthEnvironmental Science19.3%
- Urban Heat Island MitigationEnvironmental Science6.1%
- Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics StudiesEnvironmental Science5.3%
- Wildlife-Road Interactions and ConservationEnvironmental Science3.8%
- Urban Agriculture and SustainabilityAgricultural and Biological Sciences3.7%
- Urban Transport and AccessibilitySocial Sciences3.5%
- Economic and Environmental ValuationEconomics, Econometrics and Finance3.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Geography, Physical | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Urban Studies | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Environmental Studies | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Regional & Urban Planning | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Environmental Studies | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Geography, Physical | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Regional & Urban Planning | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Urban Studies | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Environmental Science & Ecology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Environmental Science & Ecology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Ecology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Environmental Studies | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Geography, Physical | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Regional & Urban Planning | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Urban Studies | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIESSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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
- 11.48LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 11.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 19.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 19.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 2.95LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.77LetPub ·
- h-index
- 132LetPub ·
- h-index
- 284OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 4,403OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 10.95OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 3.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 49.39%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 177LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 5,996 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 151 | 85 | 149 |
| 2025 | 198 | 103 | 1,702 |
| 2024 | 203 | 123 | 4,191 |
| 2023 | 224 | 125 | 7,937 |
| 2022 | 239 | 127 | 9,404 |
| 2021 | 229 | 124 | 13,252 |
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
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
217 dayssubmission to acceptance · community reports about 7.5 months
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 7.5 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 10 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 87 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 217 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 9 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,120 / EUR 2,850 / GBP 2,500 / JPY 368,100 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 4,700 | — | — |
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)
What to prepare6 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 1–7
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
- Highlights
- Required
Article types accepted6, with length limits
- perspectiveLandscape and Urban Planning publishes original, empirical research on important international and regional issues in landscape science, with an emphasis on app…main text ≤ 8,000 words
- research notesResearch Notes should typically be limited to 2000 words and a total of 3 tables and figures, yet be sufficiently documented, both by reference to the essential…Length not stated
- research paperLandscape and Urban Planning publishes original, empirical research on important international and regional issues in landscape science, with an emphasis on app…main text ≤ 8,000 words
- research papersResearch Papers are typically between 4000 and 8000 words, including manuscript text and references (use 25-60 references as a guideline).Length not stated
- review articlein knowledge about an area of inquiry. Review Articles are typically between 6000 and 10,000 words in length, including references and tables. Please includemain text ≤ 10,000 words
- review articlesReview Articles are typically between 6000 and 10,000 words in length, including references and tables.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability
Data statement required at submission Model summary
To foster transparency, you are required to state the availability of any data at submission.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Double anonymized peer review Model summary
This journal follows a double anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication.
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
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Bimonthly
- Founded
- 1986
- ISSN
- 0169-2046
- Electronic ISSN
- 1872-6062
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Landscape and Urban Planning
What CAS zone is Landscape and Urban Planning in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Landscape and Urban Planning is in Zone 1 of Environmental Science & Ecology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Ecology / Geography, Physical / Urban Studies / Environmental Studies / Geography / Regional & Urban Planning; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Environmental Science & Ecology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Landscape and Urban Planning?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 11.48; CiteScore 19.6, h-index 284.
How long does peer review take at Landscape and Urban Planning?
The publisher reports about 217 days (submission to acceptance); authors report an average review time of about 7.5 months; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. 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.
What are the manuscript requirements of Landscape and Urban Planning?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 1–7; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: APA; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required; Highlights: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Landscape and Urban Planning based?
Of the 123 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 10 (about 8%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (48), Mainland China (10) and Australia (10). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Landscape and Urban Planning?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Landscape and Urban Planning is indexed in SCIE, SSCI and Scopus.
Is Landscape and Urban Planning open access, and what is the APC?
Landscape and Urban Planning is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,120.
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: .