Open Access Finder

78 free-to-publish Scopus journals in Urban Studies

78 peer-reviewed journals in the SCImago category Urban Studies charge no APC and no other author fees, according to the DOAJ. The quartile shown is the journal’s quartile in this category (not its best one elsewhere): 5 are Q1 and 15 Q2 here. Data snapshot: October 2026.

78journals with no APC
5Q1 in this category
15Q2 in this category
58Q3 or Q4 in this category

Of the Scopus-ranked journals here, 49% are Q1 or Q2 (site-wide: 40%). Their median self-reported time from submission to publication is 20 weeks. Most are published in Italy (11), Spain (7) and Chile (5). 86% accept manuscripts in English and 62% accept at least one other language.

All 78 free-to-publish journals in Urban Studies

Sorted by best SCImago quartile, then SJR. Click a column header to sort by it; click a second column to add a tiebreak. The search box narrows the list. Time to publish is the journal’s own DOAJ figure (average weeks from submission to publication).

#JournalQuartileSJRH-indexPublisherCountryTime to publish
1Urban Informatics
2731-6963
Q11.1048SpringerSingapore30 wk
2Regional Sustainability
2666-660X
Q11.08127KeAi Communications Co. Ltd.China21 wk
3International Journal of Geoheritage and Parks
2577-4441 · 2577-445X
Q10.91532KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.China15 wk
4Folia Geographica
1336-6157 · 2454-1001
Q10.82214University of PrešovSlovakia18 wk
5Surveillance & Society
1477-7487
Q10.56961Surveillance Studies NetworkCanada26 wk
6Raumforschung und Raumordnung
0034-0111 · 1869-4179
Q20.44625oekom verlag GmbHGermany29 wk
7Revista INVI
0718-1299 · 0718-8358
Q20.40725Universidad de ChileChile52 wk
8European Journal of Geography
1792-1341 · 2410-7433
Q20.39417European Association of GeographersBelgium12 wk
9eTropic: electronic journal of studies in the tropics
1448-2940
Q20.38310James Cook UniversityAustralia12 wk
10Environmental & Socio-economic Studies
2354-0079
Q20.3815SciendoPoland12 wk
11European Journal of Transport and Infrastructure Research
1567-7141
Q20.37238TU Delft OPEN PublishingNetherlands30 wk
12Journal of Architecture and Urbanism
2029-7955 · 2029-7947
Q20.32515Vilnius Gediminas Technical UniversityLithuania15 wk
13Chinese Journal of Urban and Environmental Studies
2345-7481 · 2345-752X
Q20.31912World Scientific PublishingSingapore16 wk
14Town and Regional Planning
1012-280X · 2415-0495
Q20.3019University of the Free StateSouth Africa18 wk
15Journal of Urban and Regional Analysis
2067-4082 · 2068-9969
Q20.315University of BucharestRomania16 wk
16Critical Housing Analysis
2336-2839
Q20.29519Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of SciencesCzechia14 wk
17EURE (Santiago) - Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios Urbano Regionales
0250-7161 · 0717-6236
Q20.29241Pontificia Universidad Católica de ChileChile36 wk
18European Journal of Spatial Development
1650-9544
Q20.27715Politecnico di TorinoItaly40 wk
19Revista de Urbanismo
0717-5051
Q20.2739Universidad de ChileChile8 wk
20Urbano
0717-3997 · 0718-3607
Q20.2718Universidad del Bío BíoChile20 wk
21Aestimum
1592-6117 · 1724-2118
Q30.25717Firenze University PressItaly12 wk
22Bulletin of Geography. Socio-Economic Series
1732-4254 · 2083-8298
Q30.25127Nicolaus Copernicus University in ToruńPoland91 wk
23Journal of Design and the Built Environment
1823-4208 · 2232-1500
Q30.2514University of MalayaMalaysia16 wk
24Urbani Izziv
0353-6483 · 1855-8399
Q30.24524Urbanistični inštitut RSSlovenia32 wk
25International Journal of Human Capital in Urban Management
2476-4698 · 2476-4701
Q30.23310Municipality of TehranIran8 wk
26Ciudades
1133-6579 · 2445-3943
Q30.2326Universidad de ValladolidSpain28 wk
27Geographia Polonica
0016-7282 · 2300-7362
Q30.22927Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of SciencesPoland24 wk
28Acta Scientiarum Polonorum. Administratio Locorum
1644-0749 · 2450-0771
Q30.22510Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Warmińsko-Mazurskiego w OlsztyniePoland15 wk
29DETUROPE
1821-2506
Q30.2213University of South BohemiaCzechia24 wk
30Disegnare con
1828-5961
Q30.21910University of L'AquilaItaly4 wk
31Journal of Tourism Analysis
2254-0644
Q30.21914Asociación Española de Expertos Científicos en Turismo (AECIT)Spain15 wk
32Mundo Agrario
1515-5994
Q30.21812Universidad Nacional de La PlataArgentina18 wk
33Revista Hábitat Sustentable
0719-0700
Q30.2167Universidad del Bío BíoChile17 wk
34Spatium
1450-569X · 2217-8066
Q30.2112Institute of Architecture, Urban & Spatial Planning of SerbiaSerbia30 wk
35Astragalo
2469-0503
Q30.2093Editorial Universidad de SevillaSpain8 wk
36Bitácora Urbano Territorial
0124-7913 · 2027-145X
Q30.20412Universidad Nacional de ColombiaColombia16 wk
37The Journal of Public Space
2206-9658
Q30.2036City Space ArchitectureItaly20 wk
38VLC Arquitectura
2341-3050 · 2341-2747
Q30.24Universitat Politècnica de ValènciaSpain25 wk
39Cidades, Comunidades e Território
2182-3030
Q30.1927DINÂMIA’CET – IUL, Centre for Socioeconomic and Territorial StudiesPortugal52 wk
40Estudios Demográficos y Urbanos
0186-7210 · 2448-6515
Q30.1912El Colegio de México, A.C.Mexico28 wk
41Transactions of the Association of European Schools of Planning
2566-2147
Q30.1777AESOP Association of the European Schools of PlanningBelgium15 wk
42Ateliê Geográfico
1982-1956
Q30.1764Universidade Federal de GoiásBrazil9 wk
43Economía, Sociedad y Territorio
1405-8421 · 2448-6183
Q30.1747El Colegio Mexiquense, A.C.Mexico34 wk
44Vibrant: Virtual Brazilian Anthropology
1809-4341
Q30.1738Associação Brasileira de AntropologiaBrazil24 wk
45Sub\urban
2197-2567
Q30.16614sub\urban. zeitschrift für kritische stadtforschungGermany45 wk
46FORMakademisk
1890-9515
Q30.1649Formakademisk, OsloNorway15 wk
47Acta Geographica Universitatis Comenianae
1338-6034
Q30.1625Comenius University in BratislavaSlovakia26 wk
48Anales de Geografía de la Universidad Complutense
0211-9803 · 1988-2378
Q30.15614Universidad Complutense de MadridSpain50 wk
49AZ ITU Journal of the Faculty of Architecture
2564-7474 · 2564-7571
Q30.15314Istanbul Technical University PressTürkiye35 wk
50Urbanism. Arhitectura. Constructii
2069-0509 · 2069-6469
Q30.1537NR&DI URBAN-INCERCRomania5 wk

Where these journals come from

Top countries of publication

  1. Italy 11
  2. Spain 7
  3. Chile 5
  4. Romania 5
  5. Belgium 4
  6. Mexico 4

Top publishers

  1. AESOP Association of the European Schools of Planning 2
  2. Editura Universitară "Ion Mincu” 2
  3. Firenze University Press 2
  4. Universidad de Chile 2
  5. Universidad del Bío Bío 2
  6. University of Bologna 2

Manuscript languages accepted

  1. English 67
  2. Spanish 25
  3. Portuguese 15
  4. French 10
  5. Italian 10
  6. Czech 2

About this list

Diamond open access (also called Platinum) means the journal is free to read and free to publish in: the DOAJ records it with “APC: no” and “other fees: no”. Quartiles come from the latest SCImago edition: Q1 is the top 25% of journals in a subject category, Q4 the bottom 25%; the lists show a journal’s best quartile. Read more in our open access guide.

Before submitting, always confirm the journal on its own website and in the DOAJ, verify Scopus indexing by ISSN with the Scopus check rather than trusting claims on the journal’s site, and watch out for look-alike titles (see the predatory journal checklist).

More categories in Social Sciences

Linguistics and Language419 free journals · 51 Q1 Cultural Studies337 free journals · 64 Q1 Education310 free journals · 27 Q1 Sociology and Political Science264 free journals · 13 Q1 Social Sciences (miscellaneous)239 free journals · 18 Q1 Law230 free journals · 21 Q1 Geography, Planning and Development168 free journals · 11 Q1 Anthropology142 free journals · 17 Q1 Communication123 free journals · 14 Q1 Political Science and International Relations116 free journals · 8 Q1 Archeology110 free journals · 16 Q1 Library and Information Sciences77 free journals · 6 Q1 Health (social science)54 free journals · 4 Q1 Public Administration44 free journals · 0 Q1 Demography41 free journals · 4 Q1 Gender Studies39 free journals · 0 Q1 Development35 free journals · 3 Q1