Foreword: A bright future for plaNext and the AESOP publishing platform

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24306/plnxt/106

Abstract

In early 2025, plaNext – Next Generation Planning achieved a significant milestone: its indexing in the Scopus database. This event marks a pivotal moment for the journal and for the broader publication strategy of the Association of European Schools of Planning (AESOP). It is a recognition of the collective efforts made by successive editorial boards, contributors, reviewers, and above all, by the young scholars who believed in a journal that could serve both as a platform for emerging voices and as a vehicle for innovation in planning scholarship. More than a celebratory note, this foreword seeks to situate plaNext within AESOP’s evolving ecosystem of publications and overall digital environment. It reflects on the journal’s distinctive role and achievements, connects it with the broader ambitions of AESOP’s scientific dissemination strategy, and explores how recent developments—including the launch of the AESOP Digital Archive—are contributing to a renewed and more integrated platform for publishing in planning.

Published

2025-07-31

Issue

OnlineFirst

Section

Foreword

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Copyright (c) 2024 Giancarlo Cotella

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Author Biography

Giancarlo Cotella, Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning (DIST), Politecnico di Torino

Giancarlo Cotella is a full professor of urban and regional planning at Politecnico di Torino. He has 20 years of experience in comparative spatial planning research, developed through the active participation to numerous international and national research projects. He recently edited the volume Spatial planning systems in Europe. Comparison and trajectories (with Vincent Nadin and Peter Schmitt) and the Handbook of Territorial Governance (with Umberto Janin Rivolin). Since 2023, he serves as Secretary General of AESOP, the Association of European Schools of Planning.

References

Davidoff, P. (1965). Advocacy and pluralism in planning. Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 31(4), 331–338. https://doi.org/10.1080/01944366508978187

Geppert, A., & Cotella, G. (2010). Planning Education No. 2. Quality Issues in a Consolidating European Higher Education Area. Leuven: AESOP. Available at: https://eprints.aesop-planning.eu/collections/d2b0401c-558c-4494-bcac-8331783a023b

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