Journal profile · GEOGRAPHY
Raumforschung und Raumordnung-Spatial Research and Planning
ISSN 0034-0111 · eISSN 1869-4179 · oekom verlag GmbH · Germany
Raumforschung und Raumordnung-Spatial Research and Planning: CAS Zone 4 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review about 29 weeks (community reports); 56 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Raumforschung und Raumordnung-Spatial Research and Planning is published by oekom verlag GmbH and is in Zone 4 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Ecology, Conservation, and Geographical Studies, Environmental Science and Technology and Urbanization and City Planning, together about 47.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Political Science and International Relations and Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
“Raumforschung und Raumordnung | Spatial Research and Planning” is a journal for interdisciplinary spatial science discourse. It is a forum for current and relevant issues related to spatial development and planning in Germany as well as in the European and international context.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): GEOGRAPHY
Editor-in-chief Andreas KleePublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Ecology, Conservation, and Geographical StudiesEnvironmental Science21.5%
- Environmental Science and TechnologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology13.3%
- Urbanization and City PlanningSocial Sciences12.6%
- Public Administration and Political AnalysisSocial Sciences9.2%
- Cross-Border Cooperation and IntegrationSocial Sciences4.1%
- Innovation, Technology, and SocietySocial Sciences3.9%
- Economic and Social IssuesSocial Sciences3.5%
- Regional Development and PolicySocial Sciences3.2%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
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
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.4LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.45LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.67LetPub ·
- h-index
- 35OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 232OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.5OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 25%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 98.97%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 28LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,930 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 31 | 31 | 0 |
| 2025 | 56 | 56 | 21 |
| 2024 | 48 | 48 | 46 |
| 2023 | 59 | 59 | 217 |
| 2022 | 65 | 65 | 535 |
| 2021 | 73 | 73 | 398 |
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 29 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 29 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY | |
| OpenAlex | USD 2,760 / EUR 2,240 / GBP 1,890 | — | — | |
| LetPub | EUR 250 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
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 prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- Harvard
- Templates
- Word
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted3
- forschungsbeitrag / research articleIn the category “Forschungsbeitrag / Research Article” papers are published that primarily contribute to the national or international discourse in spatial scie…Length not stated
- kommentar / commentaryIn the category "Commentary", short texts are published, whose subject matter can be considered highly relevant to current and future territorial development an…Length not stated
- rezension / book reviewThe critical discussion of (new) scientific publications is particularly important both in the wider scientific community and among specialist groups.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Plagiarism, Preprints
- AI use 8.4. Use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies
Authors are required to disclose any use of AI tools, including generative AI and language models (LLMs), in the preparation of their manuscripts. This disclosure should include the tool’s name, version, and manufacturer and be placed in the manuscript's methods section or acknowledgements. The use of translation and grammar correction tools, such as DeepL Translator and Writefull, does not requir…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship 8.1. Authorship
Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. A so…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
COPE standards Model summary
We expect our authors to be familiar with and comply with the standards of COPE, the Committee on Publication Ethics.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright 7. Open access licence model
CC BY 4.0 licence Model summary
As of January 2019, all texts published in “Raumforschung und Raumordnung | Spatial Research and Planning” are available as open access. The publications are provided as initial releases in print and digital versions. The digital version can be read and downloaded free of charge. Publication follows the licence model CC BY 4.0.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access 7. Open access licence model
Open access since January 2019 Model summary
As of January 2019, all texts published in “Raumforschung und Raumordnung | Spatial Research and Planning” are available as open access. The publications are provided as initial releases in print and digital versions. The digital version can be read and downloaded free of charge. Publication follows the licence model CC BY 4.0.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review 5.1. Double-blind peer review
All texts in the category “Forschungsbeitrag / Research Article” go through the following process: A Technical Check to ensure compliance with the formal standards concerning length of text, quality of the abstracts, references, declarations concerning first-time publication etc. Screening by the editors-in-chief to ensure that the submitted text fits with the aims and scope of the journal “Raumfo…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism 8. Ethical guidelines and plagiarism
Software-based plagiarism detection Model summary
8.1. Authorship Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as co…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints
Preprints allowed Model summary
RuR will consider for review articles previously available as preprints, on condition that the authors agree to the following: The authors retain copyright to the preprint and are permitted to submit it to the journal.
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
- oekom verlag GmbH
- Country or region
- Germany
- Language
- English, German
- ISSN
- 0034-0111
- Electronic ISSN
- 1869-4179
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Raumforschung und Raumordnung-Spatial Research and Planning
What CAS zone is Raumforschung und Raumordnung-Spatial Research and Planning in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Raumforschung und Raumordnung-Spatial Research and Planning is in Zone 4 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Geography. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
How long does peer review take at Raumforschung und Raumordnung-Spatial Research and Planning?
Authors report an average review time of about 29 weeks. 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 Raumforschung und Raumordnung-Spatial Research and Planning?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: Harvard; Templates: Word; Cover letter: 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.
Which databases index Raumforschung und Raumordnung-Spatial Research and Planning?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Raumforschung und Raumordnung-Spatial Research and Planning is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Raumforschung und Raumordnung-Spatial Research and Planning open access, and what is the APC?
Raumforschung und Raumordnung-Spatial Research and Planning is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .