Editorial Policies

Open Access Policy
This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. All articles published in Open Access will be immediately and permanently free for everyone to read and download.

License Terms
Applying Creative Commons Attribution – Noncommercial License 4.0 (CC BY-NC 4.0), Journal of Urban Innovation allows anyone to copy, modify, adapt and redistribute the content of the published articles in any medium or format for any purpose as long as proper citation to the author and original source is provided. Furthermore, the content of the published articles should not be used for commercial purposes.

Policies and Development
The editor-in-chief of is responsible for defining the objectives, focus and scope, setting the tone, maintaining the quality standard, and designing review, editorial and publication policies. The editor-in-chief may seek advices from members of the editorial advisory board in building the vision, deciding on long-term strategic issues, and leading the development of Journal of Urban Innovation.

Originality Screening
Manuscripts submitted to Journal of Urban Innovation will be screened for plagiarism and self-plagiarism using standard detection tools. Based on the similarity index, professional judgement and thorough investigation, the editor in charge will decide whether a manuscript will proceed to the peer-review process, be returned to the author for resubmission, or be rejected.

Publication Decisions
The editor-in-chief of Journal of Urban Innovation is responsible for deciding which articles are submitted to the journal for publication. This decision is based on the recommendations of editorial board members and journal reviewers. The journal complies with applicable legal requirements regarding defamation, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editor confers with the editorial team and reviewers in making this decision.

Confidentiality 
Editors, reviewers, and editorial staff may not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, the editorial team, and the publisher, as appropriate.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest 
Unpublished material disclosed in a submitted manuscript may not be used by any editorial board member or reviewer in their own research.

Duties of Reviewers

  • Contribution to Editorial Decision: This journal utilizes a double-blind review process to ensure impartial evaluation and prevent potential biases. Reviewers provide expert opinions and recommendations to assist the editor-in-chief in making informed editorial decisions. The editor-in-chief communicates with authors as needed, offering guidance and support to enhance the quality of their research papers.

  • Prompt Review and Feedback: The journal's editors are committed to providing timely reviews to authors. If a reviewer fails to submit their report within the specified timeframe, the manuscript will be promptly assigned to another qualified reviewer.

  • Strict Confidentiality: The contents of submitted manuscripts are treated with the utmost confidentiality. Adhering to the double-blind review process, editors and reviewers are prohibited from discussing manuscripts with anyone, including the authors.

  • Objective Evaluation: Editors and reviewers are obligated to evaluate manuscripts solely based on their merit and content. Review comments should be respectful, constructive, and provide clear justifications for decisions and recommendations.

  • Acknowledgement of Sources: Reviewers are responsible for identifying relevant published works that have not been cited by the authors. Any statements asserting observations, derivations, or arguments previously reported must be accompanied by appropriate citations. Additionally, reviewers should bring to the editor's attention any substantial similarities or overlaps between the submitted manuscript and other published papers they are personally aware of.

  • Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal gain. Reviewers should refrain from evaluating manuscripts involving conflicts of interest arising from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with the authors, companies, or institutions associated with the paper.

Duties of Authors

  • Reporting Standards: 

    • Accuracy and Objectivity: Authors must present an accurate account of the work performed and provide an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be accurately represented in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to enable others to replicate the work if possible. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.
    • Data Access and Retention: Authors may be asked to provide raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review. They should be prepared to provide such data within a reasonable timeframe.

  • Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if authors have used the work and/or words of others that this has been appropriately cited or quoted. Papers found with such issues will be automatically rejected and the authors advised.

  • Multiple, Redundant, and Concurrent Publication: When a paper is submitted for possible publication, the submitting author makes a written statement that the paper is not published and is not under consideration for publication in another journal. Simultaneous submission is considered unethical and therefore unacceptable.

  • Acknowledgement of Sources: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others is required. Authors should cite publications that have led to the current research.

  • Authorship of Paper: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the research reported in the manuscript. The corresponding author has the responsibility to keep co-authors informed of the review process. If accepted, all authors must provide a signed statement that the research work is their original work.

  • Hazards on Human or Animal Subjects: If the work involves chemicals, procedures, or equipment that have unusual hazards in their use, authors must clearly identify these in the manuscript.

  • Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: All authors must disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the outcomes or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.

  • Fundamental Errors in Published Works: When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, it is the author's obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.

Article Processing Charge
Journal of Urban Innovation is an open-access journal. The journal does not charge APCs, submission charges, or another fee,  which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author.