Policies
Author Guidelines
Click Here to download this document in PDF format.
Cities and the Environment (CATE) Cities and the Environment, a web-based journal, aims to provide an international forum for urban researchers and practitioners to explore ecological theory, share relevant data and exchange best practices. Industry sectors that this journal shall target include the biophysical, social and educational aspects of urban management, landscape transformation and educational interventions. The ability of web-based publishing to reach the widest readership possible and the publisher’s goal to keep this journal free of charge will produce a scholarly environment where the audience can exchange ideas and findings that contribute to continued positive urban transformations.
If you have any questions about the appropriateness of Cities and the Environment as a venue for publishing your work, please contact the editors.
Style:
Since this is an open-access electronic journal, we encourage authors to write in a style that allows readers from diverse disciplines and backgrounds to benefit maximally from their work. We also encourage authors to incorporate, where appropriate, audio-visual material in digital formats.
Submissions:
Click Here to download CATE Guide for Formatting and Submitting Articles, PDF format.
- Manuscripts should be submitted electronically to the editors in Microsoft Word or in rich text format, using Word’s footnoting (not endnoting) function. To submit articles electronically, authors must create and login to an eScholarship@bc account. Click on the link at the bottom of this page to do so.
- Submissions must be accompanied by the following for each author:
Name,
Title and Affiliation,
Mailing Address,
Phone Number, and
E-mail Address.
- Submissions should include a suggested list of keywords by which search engines will be able to locate this article.
- Submissions should follow the CATE Guide for Formatting and Submitting Articles. This guide includes instructions for page and line numbers, citations, tables, etc.
For detailed manuscript format guidelines, click HERE. - Submission of your manuscript constitutes a statement that it has not been published in whole or substantial part by another publisher and that it is not being considered concurrently in whole or substantial part by another publisher.
- The author assumes all responsibility for full documentation of all sources cited in the submission according to accepted standards of academic integrity.
- The author assumes responsibility for publication clearance in the event that such is necessary. The author will also procure any necessary copyright permissions for materials included once the article has been accepted.
- The Center for Urban Resilience, the USDA Forest Service and the Editors assume no responsibility for statements or opinions expressed by contributors in articles published in Cities and the Environment.
- Articles and related materials once published in CATE may not be withdrawn.
Does CATE have article processing charges?
No, CATE is free for both authors and readers. CATE does not charge authors any fees to process or publish papers. CATE does not require a subscription or ask for any other fees from readers – All articles are free of charge to everyone.
How many research and review articles did CATE publish in the last year?
As of August 2023, CATE had released two issues in Volume 16, whcih contained a total of 16 articles, including research papers, practitioner and research notes, and an editorial.
What digital archiving policy does CATE use?
CATE uses LOCKSS.
Does CATE provide article download statistics?
Yes, article download statistics can be found by clicking on an article's title on our homepage.
What is the review process for CATE?
Manuscripts submitted to CATE go through a double blind peer review process.
Each manuscript accepted for peer review is assigned a unique identification number that is used for tracking the manuscript through the review and publication process. Each manuscript accepted for peer review is acknowledged in an e-mail with the manuscript ID number and detailed information about the expected timelines for the peer review. Authors are encouraged to contact the editors any time during the review process regarding questions about the status of their manuscript.
Manuscripts submitted to the journal go through a double blind review process (that is, the author's identity is unknown to the reader) for selection. Typically, at least 2 reviewers with expertise in the areas addressed by the manuscript will evaluate the manuscript on the basis of (a) the importance of the topic, (b) originality, (c) clarity, (d) accuracy and validity of the content, (e) value of the contribution to the professional literature, (f) implications for future research, and (g) quality of the writing.
What happens after a manuscript is reviewed by the peer reviewers?
The recommendations of the reviewers are sent to the editors. After reviewing these recommendations, the editors will make a decision concerning the manuscript: (a) decline the opportunity to publish, (b) request a revision with a stipulation for further peer review, (c) request a revision subject to additional review by CATE staff, or (d) accept as is.
As with most journals, almost all manuscripts submitted to CATE involve some level of additional revision (b or c) prior to publication.
The editorial decision and rationale will be conveyed in an e-mail to the first author. Copies of the peer reviews will also be accessible by this first author.
What happens after a manuscript is tentatively accepted for publication?
If a manuscript receives favorable comments from reviewers and the editors concur, tentative approval for publication is made. This approval is conditioned upon specific revisions that must be made as well as the submission of supporting materials (described below). We typically request that authors resubmit their revised manuscripts within 30 days.
Revisions
Final decision to publish a manuscript is made after the satisfactory completion of revisions outlined by the editors. When a manuscript is accepted for publication, author(s) will be requested to provide a final-version electronic copy of their manuscript, tables, and references. We request that authors format their manuscripts for publishing following the CATE Formatting Guidelines within two weeks.
Editing
The editorial staff of CATE reserves the right to make editorial changes that do not materially affect the meaning of the text. Accepted CATE manuscripts are copyedited for posting online in a consistent format.
Proofs
As all correspondence for the journal will be electronic, authors will not receive proofs. However, corrections requested by referees will be sent by email and you will then be requested to resubmit your paper. Your resubmitted paper will need to be accompanied by a detailed description of the corrections you have made. It is important that you highlight these corrections so that the Copy Editor can easily see where the changes have been made. Once a paper has been finally accepted, the Copy Editor will check the paper for grammatical and typographical errors.
License
All content in CATE, unless otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/. Under this license, authors retain copyright to their work, though mention of its original publication in CATE would be appreciated. Users are free to copy, distribute, display, and perform the work; to make derivative works; and to make commercial use of the work, provided that attribution is given to the original author and that the license terms are made clear in any reuse or distribution.
Publication
After acceptance, manuscripts are placed in a publication queue. Since articles in CATE are electronically published on a rolling basis within an annual volume, subscribers are notified by e-mail when new article(s) have been posted.
When you select the "SUBMIT AN ARTICLE" link the displayed page will have options to create a bepress account or to login. If you have not yet created an account please do so; if you already have an account please login.
Plagiarism
All submissions to CATE, should be free of plagiarism as defined by the U.S. Office of Research Integrity (ORI):
"As a general working definition, ORI considers plagiarism to include both the theft or misappropriation of intellectual property and the substantial unattributed textual copying of another's work. It does not include authorship or credit disputes.
The theft or misappropriation of intellectual property includes the unauthorized use of ideas or unique methods obtained by a privileged communication, such as a grant or manuscript review.
Substantial unattributed textual copying of another's work means the unattributed verbatim or nearly verbatim copying of sentences and paragraphs which materially mislead the ordinary reader regarding the contributions of the author. ORI generally does not pursue the limited use of identical or nearly-identical phrases which describe a commonly-used methodology or previous research because ORI does not consider such use as substantially misleading to the reader or of great significance.
Many allegations of plagiarism involve disputes among former collaborators who participated jointly in the development or conduct of a research project, but who subsequently went their separate ways and made independent use of the jointly developed concepts, methods, descriptive language, or other product of the joint effort. The ownership of the intellectual property in many such situations is seldom clear, and the collaborative history among the scientists often supports a presumption of implied consent to use the products of the collaboration by any of the former collaborators" (ORI 1994).
For more information, the full text and context for this excerpt can be found on the ORI website: https://ori.hhs.gov/ori-policy-plagiarism
Any submissions to CATE found to be plagiarized, will be immediately rejected.
