Journal profile · GEOGRAPHY
Social & Cultural Geography
ISSN 1464-9365 · eISSN 1470-1197 · Taylor & Francis
Social & Cultural Geography: CAS Zone 2 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 1.81; JCR Q2 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 341 days to acceptance (69 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 18% (journal website); 90 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Social & Cultural Geography is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 2 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Geographies of human-animal interactions, Urban Planning and Governance and Migration, Refugees, and Integration, together about 34.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Geography, Planning and Development. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Social & Cultural Geography publishes theoretically consequential empirical research that makes a strong intellectual contribution to critical human geography and its allied fields. The journal confronts topical issues relating to social/cultural problems and issues in geography and fosters scholarly debate about them. It strives for international authorship and readership, as well as in the peer-review process. Social & Cultural Geography publishes research in a variety of formats, including original articles, provocations, forums and special issues. Information about each of these formats is avaliable in the 'About the Journal' section of the website. Special Issues We welcome proposals for special issues, which should be consequential and innovative. We limit the number of special issues to 3 per volume. Guidelines for special issues can be found here. Peer Review Statement All submitted manuscripts, including those which form part of special issue sets, are subject to initial appraisal by the Editors, and, if found suitable for further consideration, to double anonymized peer review by three independent, anonymous expert referees. Submission is online via ScholarOne Manuscripts.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): GEOGRAPHY
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Australia 3, United Kingdom 2, Ireland 1 (6 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Geographies of human-animal interactionsSocial Sciences19.4%
- Urban Planning and GovernanceSocial Sciences8.4%
- Migration, Refugees, and IntegrationSocial Sciences6.3%
- Rural development and sustainabilityAgricultural and Biological Sciences5.3%
- Homelessness and Social IssuesHealth Professions4.8%
- Anthropological Studies and InsightsSocial Sciences4.5%
- Migration and Labor DynamicsSocial Sciences4%
- Religious Tourism and SpacesSocial Sciences3.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 3 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Geography | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · best quartile · 2025
- 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
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Current ContentsPublisher website
Other: IBSS (International Bibliography of the Social Sciences), ISI Alerting Services, Social Scisearch, ISI Social Science Citation Rankings
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
- 1.81LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.1LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 6.1Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.86LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.86Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.41LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.41Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 113OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,112OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.68OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 10.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 43.27%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 70LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 464,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,028 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 72 | 46 | 14 |
| 2025 | 90 | 54 | 126 |
| 2024 | 81 | 48 | 268 |
| 2023 | 53 | 29 | 323 |
| 2022 | 107 | 57 | 1,742 |
| 2021 | 83 | 44 | 1,240 |
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
341 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 278 days – 412 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 43 days (69 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 390 days
- Sample
- 69 articles with submission and acceptance dates (190 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)
- 18%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 14 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 100 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 43 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 accepted4
- forumsSocial & Cultural Geography publishes research in a variety of formats, including original articles, provocations, forums and special issues.Length not stated
- original articlesSocial & Cultural Geography publishes research in a variety of formats, including original articles, provocations, forums and special issues.Length not stated
- provocationsSocial & Cultural Geography publishes research in a variety of formats, including original articles, provocations, forums and special issues.Length not stated
- special issuesSocial & Cultural Geography publishes research in a variety of formats, including original articles, provocations, forums and special issues.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Social & Cultural Geography 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…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Statement
Double anonymized peer review by three independent, anonymous expert referees after initial editor appraisal. Model summary
All submitted manuscripts, including those which form part of special issue sets, are subject to initial appraisal by the Editors, and, if found suitable for further consideration, to double anonymized peer review by three independent, anonymous expert referees. Submission is online via ScholarOne Manuscripts.
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
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 1464-9365
- Electronic ISSN
- 1470-1197
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 27, Issue 8 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Social & Cultural Geography
What CAS zone is Social & Cultural Geography in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Social & Cultural Geography is in Zone 2 of Sociology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Geography; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Social & Cultural Geography?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.81; CiteScore 6.1, h-index 113.
How long does peer review take at Social & Cultural Geography?
Based on the dates recorded on 69 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 341 days (interquartile range 278–412 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 18%. 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 JCR quartile is Social & Cultural Geography in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q2 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 2 of Sociology.
Where are the editorial board members of Social & Cultural Geography based?
Of the 6 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Australia (3), United Kingdom (2) and Ireland (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Social & Cultural Geography?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Social & Cultural Geography is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Social & Cultural Geography open access, and what is the APC?
Social & Cultural Geography 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .