Call For Papers
Regular Papers
We encourage submissions of well-written, relevant articles across many article types. We also have the ability to publish less traditional scholarly works including multi-media products such as simulations, video streams, audio productions, and other visualization tools. This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the users or their institutions.
Special Issues
Special issues are generally time-limited issues curated by dedicated editors who invite author submissions. Please see below for open calls for special issues. If you have been invited by editors, please select the relevant special issue from the dropdown. If neither in response to an open call or an editor invitation, please submit your work as an article or one of the other categories below. To propose a special issue, please contact the editors.
Open Calls
Urban Rewilding: Exploring How We Bring Nature Back to Cities
Rewilding is a form of restoration involving introduction of biodiversity and ecological complexity in landscapes that have been abandoned or degraded. The concept of rewilding is contested, from its definition and intention, down to its implications for human-nature interactions. Whereas some advocate that rewilding should restore pre-existing biodiversity, others are open to novel ecosystems birthed from new species introductions. The original idea behind rewilding was to allow nature to reclaim landscapes in the absence of humans. However, the evolving discourse is looking at rewilding as a way to reconnect humans to nature in developed and populated ecosystems. Depending on the context, practitioners need to be considerate of the risks to biodiversity and humans that lie at the interface of rewilding. Exploration on the feasibility of rewilding is particularly relevant to urban ecosystems, where human-nature coexistence is constantly reshaped by development dynamics.
Urban rewilding could manifest in approaches such as low-intensity management, or intentional restoration of trophic chains and ecosystem functions. Semantic and ontological conceptions of urban rewilding may often overlap or sometimes conflict with conservation and remediation imperatives. Nevertheless, urban rewilding as a philosophy seeks to improve diversity and inclusivity of species, perceptions, and practices. It may even help preserve and enrich urban cultural landscapes, and address issues of biphobia, decolonisation, and nature deficit. Given the great interest in rewilding in the spheres of policy and practice, the imminent question is: What is rewilding, and how do we do it?
Cities and the Environment (CATE) invites robust discussion on urban rewilding through the lenses of practitioners and researchers on themes including (but not limited to):
Biodiversity conservation Climate change adaptation Design, planning, architecture, and engineering Ecological restoration Green and blue infrastructure and management Knowledge, learning, and culture Multispecies agency Nature-based solutions One health and zoonoses Right to the city and green justice Sustainable development and resilience Wellbeing and relational ecology
We are soliciting well-written, relevant submissions across five article types (original research, practitioner and research notes, perspectives, and reviews). We also have the ability to publish less traditional scholarly works including multi-media and interactive productions. We encourage submissions of art, experiences, observations, and transdisciplinary work. All submissions will be peer-reviewed, and published free of charge, with open access. Contributing authors may be requested to peer review (double blind) other submissions to the special issue.
Interested contributors may submit their work on the CATE portal. On the journal home page, click on “Submit Article” and follow the prompts. In the “Type of Submission” menu, select the “Special Topic Article: Urban Rewilding” option and upload your files.
Expected Publication Timeline:
Initial Submission: 01 September 2024 Peer Review: October to November 2024 Publication: January 2025
To express your interest and/or enquire about details, please contact Guest Editors:
Mallika Sardeshpande, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa mallika.sardeshpande@gmail.com
Alessio Russo, Queensland University of Technology, Australia alessio.landscape@gmail.com
