Journal profile · GEOGRAPHY
Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences
ISSN 1864-4031 · eISSN 1864-404X · Springer Nature · 3 issues per year
Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences: CAS Zone 4 · Economics (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.8 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,290; median 132 days to acceptance (57 articles, last 24 months); 30 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences is published by Springer Nature and is in Zone 4 of Economics in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Regional Economics and Spatial Analysis, Spatial and Panel Data Analysis and Fiscal Policy and Economic Growth, together about 33% of its articles. Its main subfields are Economics and Econometrics. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences (LSRS) publishes high-quality, shorter papers on new theoretical or empirical results and on models and methods in the social sciences that contain a spatial dimension. Coverage includes environmental and resource economics, regional and urban economics, spatial econometrics, regional science, geography, demography, agricultural economics, GIS and city and regional planning. Examples of topics include, but are not limited to, environmental damage, urbanization, resource allocation, spatial-temporal data use, regional economic development and the application of existing and new methodologies.LSRS contributes to the communication of theories and methodologies across disciplinary borders. It offers quick dissemination and easy accessibility of new results.Officially cited as: Lett Spat Resour Sci
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): GEOGRAPHY
Editor-in-chief Amitrajeet A. BatabyalPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 4 in mainland China (about 13%); most named United States 10, Mainland China 4, Netherlands 3, Japan 2, France 2 (30 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Regional Economics and Spatial AnalysisEconomics, Econometrics and Finance13.6%
- Spatial and Panel Data AnalysisEconomics, Econometrics and Finance11.2%
- Fiscal Policy and Economic GrowthEconomics, Econometrics and Finance8.2%
- Energy, Environment, Economic GrowthEconomics, Econometrics and Finance7.6%
- Housing Market and EconomicsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance6%
- Economic and Environmental ValuationEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.7%
- Climate Change Policy and EconomicsEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.4%
- Economic Growth and ProductivityEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Economics Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Economics Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Economics | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EconLitPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, AGRICOLA, Astrophysics Data System, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS, RePEc
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
- 1.8Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.4LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.55LetPub ·
- h-index
- 29OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 124OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.99OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 23.3%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 30LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 2,025Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 71,500Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 447 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 23 | 11 | 10 |
| 2025 | 30 | 10 | 73 |
| 2024 | 28 | 10 | 159 |
| 2023 | 46 | 21 | 243 |
| 2022 | 31 | 9 | 258 |
| 2021 | 30 | 10 | 289 |
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
132 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 109 days – 189 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 23 days (57 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 165 days
- Sample
- 57 articles with submission and acceptance dates (59 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
- Submission to first decision
- 5 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 3,290 / EUR 2,690 / GBP 2,390 | — | — |
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 prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- Author–date
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Article types accepted1
- editorialDouble-blind peer review This journal follows a double-blind reviewing procedure. This means that the author will remain anonymous to the reviewers throughout p…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship principles
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
All original research must include a data availability statement. This statement should explain how to access data supporting the results and analysis in the article, including links/citations to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Please see our full policy here. If it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be com…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright transfer
Authors will be asked to transfer copyright of the article to the Publisher (or grant the Publisher exclusive publication and dissemination rights). This will ensure the widest possible protection and dissemination of information under copyright laws. The authors retain the right to prepare other derivative works and extend the journal article into book-length form. They can re-use portions or exc…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Double-blind peer review
This journal follows a double-blind reviewing procedure. This means that the author will remain anonymous to the reviewers throughout peer review. It is the responsibility of the author to anonymize the manuscript and any associated materials. Author names, affiliations and any other potentially identifying information should be removed from the manuscript text and any accompanying files (such as …
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
- Springer Nature
- Frequency
- 3 issues per year
- ISSN
- 1864-4031
- Electronic ISSN
- 1864-404X
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences
What CAS zone is Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences is in Zone 4 of Economics, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Geography. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Economics. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.8 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 3.6, h-index 29.
How long does peer review take at Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences?
Based on the dates recorded on 57 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 132 days (interquartile range 109–189 days). 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 Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: Author–date; Suggested reviewers: Optional. 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 Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences based?
Of the 30 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 4 (about 13%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (10), Mainland China (4) and Netherlands (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences is indexed in ESCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists EconLit; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences open access, and what is the APC?
Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,290.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .