Special Issue for the 10th year of the Planning for the Next Generation journal

It has been almost ten years since plaNext––Next Generation Planning, was founded. The aim was to provide AESOP’s young academic community with a platform where they publish their research and partake in planning debates. As part of AESOP’s Young Academics Network (AESOP-YAN), plaNext strived to curate a supportive peer environment for addressing current urban challenges while fostering professional development for early career researchers and practitioners.

The first issue, titled “Cities that talk,” was published on the 1st of July 2015. The theme wasinspired by the many debates that explored notions of social inclusion and equality in cities. Since then, plaNext has published 13 more volumes, touching on compelling and topical urban questions. One of those issues explored Planning Theories from the Global South, with the renowned academic late Prof. Vanessa Watson. The inspiring contributions challenged the northern bias in planning and urban theory, fostering the development of new concepts, ideas, vocabularies and practices from southern perspectives.

As the founding editorial board steps down, a new editorial board is set to take over and continue pursuing the Journal’s legacy. On this occasion, we will publish a special issue titled “plaNext in Transition 2015-2025” reflecting on the debates that plaNext has generated during the past ten years: the new perspectives in terms of new approaches in planning, a new geographical area, new experimental techniques in publishing, the legacy of plaNext, and the future visions of plaNext.

These themes will be explored in the proposed special issue through dialogues between the outgoing and incoming editorial board members The focus is on content in transition – such as exploring the growing tension between the local and global contexts, extending the scope of the journal beyond Europe, and discussing the importance of a young researchers-driven process behind scientific publications and scientific publications themselves.

We invite previous and current members of the Editorial Board of plaNext, other scholars who have had experiences with plaNext and wider public to contribute.

Timeline of the journal

The journal "plaNext––Next Generation Planning" was conceived in 2014 to provide a platform for young academics in AESOP. The journal officially launched in July 2015 with its first issue, "Cities that Talk". Since then, plaNext has grown in terms of network, contributions, and debates. The founding editorial board members have also grown in their academic careers and the time has arrived for a new generation of plaNext to take over. The transition process began in 2023, after nearly a decade of voluntary service. Following an open call for expressions of interest from the academic community, a new editorial board has been formed.

To showcase this journey and its accomplishment, this special issue will be published on the 10th anniversary of the journal's first issue and celebrated at 37th AESOP Annual Congress in İstanbul, Türkiye, 2025. A celebratory event that not only marks the journal’s legacy and transition, but it also sets the stage for future endeavors, fostering a sense of continuity and evolution within the plaNext community.

The contributions to the special issue may respond to any of the following thematic clusters:

• plaNext’s history and concept: Contributions may explore questions such as the significance of having a young-researchers-based journal, the principles that have given rise to plaNext, and the initial intentions and expectation.
• plaNext’s legacy: Contributions may explore the new debates and perspective that have been enabled through plaNext, in addition to the challenges, opportunities and failures.
• plaNext’s future: Contributions may outline a vision for the future of plaNext by identifying gaps in current debates and trajectories in plaNext, i.e. what critical issues, questions, and discourses have been overlooked or underrepresented, and should be prioritized in the coming years?
• Contributions may also explore potential challenges and goals for the future, i.e. debunking the Eurocentric vision toward a more glocal vision; coping against the competitiveness and precarious academic system through mutual learning and solidarity; dealing with the language barriers and Anglo-Saxon scientific monopoly; academic freedom and ethical principles of research conduct; navigating the academic challenges and opportunities presented by emerging technologies, etc.)

Submitted contributions undergo a peer review process, ensuring the quality and relevance of the content.

The timeline for publication is scheduled as follows:
● Call for abstracts: 10th of September 2024
● Submission of abstracts: 15th of October 2024
● Acceptance of abstracts: 30th of October 2024
● Submission of full papers: 31st of December 2024
● Peer Review and Revision: January 2025 - June 2025
● Publication: 1st of July 2025