International and interdisciplinary in practice as well as in word, IJURR is as provocative and diverse as the urban worlds that are its principal concern. It remains the go-to journal for the best of heterodox urban scholarship, for theoretical innovation, and for prefigurative debates.
Jamie Peck (Canada Research Chair in Urban & Regional Political Economy, University of British Columbia)

Long before it was the academic fashion, IJURR has been global and interdisciplinary, with a focus on political and social change throughout the world. Through its financial link to the Foundation created at the journal’s inception, participation in IJURR delivers support to struggling young scholars in less advantaged academic settings — a unique opportunity for those of us in privileged conditions to make a small difference through our own work.
    Harvey Molotch (Professor of Sociology, Metropolitan Studies and Social and Cultural Analysis, New York University, USA)

IJURR has succeeded in bringing together urban scholars from around the world to provide critical analyses of urban culture, governance, and society. No other journal offers its combination of theory, empirical investigation, and comparative investigation. Along with the Foundation for Urban and Regional Studies it has created an international community of scholars and fostered the development of graduate students. Its associated book series, Studies in Urban and Social Change, has produced some of the classic works in urban studies.
    Susan Fainstein (Professor, Department of Urban Planning and Design, Harvard, USA)

I love IJURR — it’s my journal of preference, transdisciplinary, international, critical in perspective, a journal for both new scholars and old. Dip into any issue and you will find something of interest. In this urban century, there is none better.
John Friedmann (Emeritus UCLA, Honorary Professor UBC)

A network of urban scholars was formed in 1970 to promote a critical and comparative approach that deals equally with local and global dynamics. IJURR has been a critical component of the success of this network. Its impact has been multiplied through the workshops and competitions organized through FURS and by its support for the SUSC book series. It continues to offer a credible platform for sharing ideas and information, it has been responsive to new generations of scholars, and it has maintained its general perspective without creating a new orthodoxy. IJURR is the first and best place to look for new research on urban processes around the world.
    John R. Logan (Professor of Sociology, Brown University, USA)

IJURR has maintained a critical stance towards mainstream and governmental perspectives on urban and regional topics for over four decades, while also insisting on rigorous standards of argument. Its success has led to funding being channelled back to the research community via the Foundation for Urban and Regional Studies and it has close links with the vigorous International Sociological Association Research Committee 21. It continues to be the first place to look for fresh thinking about urban phenomena throughout the world.
    Chris Pickvance (Professor of Urban Studies, University of Kent, UK)

IJURR was founded in the 1970s by a network of scholars engaged in the critical renewal of urban studies. After so many years the journal has developed into one of the most prestigious publications in the field, open to different disciplines, methodologies and innovative and critical positions. It is actively promoting the diffusion of urban knowledge among young scholars and around the world. The network of IJURR, RC21 and FURS is a dynamic machine for innovation, new ideas and important research on important issues of urban and regional life.
Enzo Mingione (Dipartimento di Sociologia e Ricerca Sociale, Università degli Studi di Milano – Bicocca, Italy)

IJURR prides itself on its thorough review process. The journal regularly receives messages of gratitude from authors – even, sometimes, when the journal has declined to publish their papers. Here are some examples:

A quick note to say thank you for your feedback on my article. I very much appreciate all the support and guidance – and I can see your points on where I have been unclear and what needs further work. I believe I can respond to these issues, and so will give it at least another go. It is clear I have been in the middle of my thoughts for too long, and do indeed need to step back and restrategize the presentation of data and arguments. … Thank you so much for still allowing me the opportunity to do so.
Young scholar from Brazil, currently in a university in the USA

I have to say I thought the referees comments were incredibly insightful and very helpful (not something I usually say). Of course it’s painful to go back again but we will try and make a good job of it.
Senior scholar, UK.

My co-author and I are delighted that our submitted manuscript has received constructive and encouraging reviews. I have just gone through the reviewers’ report and I found them very insightful and helpful for the revision of the paper.
Young scholar, Hong Kong

Suggestions from the reviewers obligated me to a complete and careful attention to many conceptual and empirical issues. They were really helpful in improving my argument and in clarifying the information I dealt with.
Scholar from Spain

Thank you so much for excellent and hard-hitting reviews. A robust revision will indeed be required … Thanks very much — very interesting and valuable reviews, and a very helpful letter of guidance. I am learning how much work these kinds of comment letters take, so I really appreciate your investment of time and thought.
Senior scholar, Canada

Even though I was sad about the decline, I have to agree with the criticisms and I really appreciate the reviews, they are indeed most helpful. I will rewrite the paper in the direction that they suggest.
Young Turkish scholar

Thanks for the report and your kind attention, even though the result disappointed me a lot :~(. The comments are very helpful and constructive. I’ll try my best to develop the paper … I’m pleased to be part of the scholarly reviewing process of IJURR.
Young scholar from Thailand

I would like to also take this opportunity to thank the proof editors. This is the most thorough proof-reading and editing process I have encountered at a journal and it is really excellent.
Young scholar, London

I’m really delighted. I really wanted to push the boundaries a little by publishing somewhere other than a history journal, and your publication really appears to be cutting edge.
Scolar from Wales

Please convey my thanks to the careful reading and excellent comments for improvement. I have never received a rejection letter so thoughtful.
Scholar from New York

My thanks to the reviewers for providing such a thorough read of this article draft and for providing so many helpful suggestions for its revision.
Scholar from Michigan

Thank you so much for your kind email. Your close consideration shows respect for this work. Thank you for your careful consideration and genuine and thoughtful response. I can assure you that we are not discouraged from submitting to IJURR in the future.
Scholar from Canada

Thank you for your assistance thus far, and please communicate to the editor my thanks for her editorial guidance. The two expert reviews were extremely helpful, careful and respectful of the piece, which is a wonderful and rare occurrence in my experience.
     Scholar from Massachusetts

Most papers reviewed for IJURR are reviewed by three reviewers. Whenever possible, when we have made a decision on a submission, we copy the decision letter together with the three anonymised reviews to each of our reviewers. Here are some responses from our reviewers:

This is a great system for letting the reviewers know the final outcome and seeing all the reports. It helps to put the whole process in perspective. Usually if journals bother at all you only get to hear the final outcome. I commend IJURR on its transparency.

By the way, IJURR is one of the few journals sending the decision – including referee reports – to all referees, and I want to stress that this is a great idea: it helps understanding why authors have chosen not to follow some suggestions, and reading your colleagues’ take on things is always interesting.

‏Thanks very much for the update and for the packet of reviews. I always am grateful to receive such a packet, including the editor’s letter, for a manuscript I have reviewed (not all journals do this). It helps me know what happened with my review and also helps me learn by reading the other reviews and the editor’s letter.

Always a pleasure to review for IJURR.

If only more journals provided such feedback!

IJURR is the only journal I review for from whom I receive copies of the other reviews and a summary letter from the editor to the author. This is really helpful to me as a reviewer, both in terms of learning how to do better reviews, but also in terms of learning more about different research perspectives.

Thanks for your efforts to support good and thorough publications.

Thank you for letting me know of the outcome. Not many journals do that and it is both interesting and useful for me to see the other reviewer’s thoughts on the paper.

Thanks for this thoughtful follow-up! It was great for me to see how the other reviewers responded, because they offer different models for providing more concise feedback (which is certainly something I am keen to work toward).

I appreciated the opportunity to take part in the review process for this excellent journal