Empowering scholarship: Young researcher-led journals as spaces for learning, envisioning, and experimenting with alternatives

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24306/plnxt/111

Keywords:

early career researchers, open knowledge, plural knowledge, open peer review, technology and AI, publishing ethics

Abstract

This paper presents reflections and experience-based perspectives on the potential of young researcher-led journals, such as plaNext – Next Generation Planning, to generate a space for learning from and networking with peers and senior scholars, as well as empowering young researchers and creating new ideas. Its original dialogue-based format is drawn from a two-hour online conversation that took place on March 7, 2025, between founding and current editorial members of plaNext. The discussion was recorded, then transcribed and polished, while leaving the main core of the discussion and tone intact. It was structured around a series of guiding questions prepared by the editors of this special issue, who adopted a qualitative research approach situated between focus groups and semi-structured interview formats. As such, the themes addressed were guided, while still allowing space for personal reflections and open expression.

The resulting article is organized into five main thematic sections. The first explores the motivations that led participants to found or join the editorial team of plaNext, detailing its genesis as a collective initiative led by early career academics seeking to resist and challenge the competitive and exclusionary practices of academic publishing by offering a more inclusive and supportive environment for young scholars. The second section examines the tension between creatively innovating within the publishing system while maintaining scientific credibility and appeal. The third addresses the ethical challenges of adopting a supportive yet rigorous editorial approach, as well as the complexities of navigating diverse editorial roles and responsibilities. The fourth focuses on lessons learned from previous editorial experiences and how they could shape the vision and future direction of the journal. It also touches upon how the cross-cutting skills developed through editorial work can support career pathways both within and beyond academia. The final section presents general reflections and concrete suggestions for recognizing and valuing the work of reviewers.

Published

2025-09-03

Issue

OnlineFirst

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Essay

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Copyright (c) 2024 Elisa Privitera, Pavel Grabalov, Milan Husar, Francesca Leccis, Mafalda Madureira, Subhashree Nath, Lauren Uğur, Chandrima Mukhopadhyay, Sıla Ceren Varış Husar

Creative Commons License

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

Author Biographies

Elisa Privitera, University of Toronto Scarborough, Canada

Elisa (Lizzy) Privitera is a transdisciplinary researcher and practitioner working at the intersection of community urban planning, environmental justice, environmental humanities, and political ecology. She is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Canada Excellence Research Chair Network for Equity in Sustainability Transitions (CERC NEST) at the University of Toronto Scarborough. At the same university, she co-led the Just Transitions in Action project—a community-based research initiative focused on collaborating with local partners to understand and envision equitable transitions. Her PhD dissertation (University of Catania, Italy) explores the role of embodied knowledge and small data in researching and planning industrial risk landscapes. She has published scientific contributions and received several grants, including a Fulbright Scholarship that supported her visiting period at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She previously served on the coordination team of the AESOP Young Academics Network and is currently a member of the editorial team of plaNext – Next Generation Planning and part of the editorial collective of Resistance: A Journal of Radical Environmental Humanities.

Pavel Grabalov, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), Norway

Pavel Grabalov is a researcher at the Centre of Excellence in Education SITRAP where he investigates how learning occurs in professional practice within Norwegian spatial planning. He has also worked on topics such as public space planning and design, cemetery planning, urban agriculture, and circular economy. He has strong competence in qualitative methods, works interdisciplinarily, and is interested in the relationship between research and policy development. Pavel holds a PhD from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) and a master's degree in urban studies from Malmö University.

Milan Husar, Spectra Centre of Excellence of the EU, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Slovakia

Milan Husar is an Associate Professor at Spectra Centre of Excellence of the EU at Institute of Management, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava. He has participated in numerous national and international research projects covering topics of smart cities, biodiversity protection and spatial planning. In his research he is exploring the topics of humanizing smart cities, exploring spatial planning culture in Central Europe and energy planning. As a Fulbright Scholar spent 6 months at Arizona State University. In the period 2022–2023 he was the chair of AESOP Young Academics network Coordination Team He is a member of plaNext Editorial Board since 2022.

Francesca Leccis, University of Cagliari, Italy

Francesca Leccis holds an MSc cum Laude in Architecture from the University of Cagliari (2012) and an MSc with Merit in International Real Estate and Planning from University College London (2015). Her research primarily focuses on sustainable urban and territorial planning, culminating in a PhD cum Laude (2017) in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture, with a comparative study on the impacts of urban regeneration initiatives in Cagliari, Rome, and London. She has been a member of plaNext’s editorial board since 2022. Currently, she is a research fellow at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture (DICAAR), University of Cagliari, working on a project defining evidence-based spatial policies for climate neutrality and adaptation in urban and rural areas. Her past research includes projects such as SOS-Lab, developing governance tools for Sardinia’s sustainable development strategy and creating a methodological approach to integrate the regional sustainability strategy into urban planning practices at the municipal and metropolitan levels, and GIREPAM, focused on integrated ecological network management in coastal and marine areas aligned with blue-green economy goals.

Mafalda Madureira, University of Twente, The Netherlands

Mafalda Pinto Soares Madureira is currently an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), in the department of Urban and Regional Planning and Geo-Information Management (PGM), of the University of Twente. She received her PhD in Urban Planning in 2014, from the Blekinge Institute of Technology, in collaboration with Circle — Center for Innovation, Research and Learning in the learning Economy, at Lund University, in Sweden. Mafalda Madureira is an experienced researcher in Urban Geography with a strong focus on the intersection of technology, citizen science, and urban planning. Her work explores how public participation can be harnessed to improve policy-making and planning processes, contributing to the creation of more resilient, inclusive, and sustainable urban spaces. She was a member of plaNext editorial team between 2017 and 2021.

Subhashree Nath, Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (IOER), Dresden, Germany

Subhashree Nath is a researcher at the Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development, Dresden, Germany. She is currently working on her PhD thesis exploring the role of web-based decision-support tools in facilitating community-based climate change adaptation in under-resourced communities. She did her master’s in Integrated Urban Development and Design from Bauhaus University, Germany. Her research interest lies in the intersection of information communication technology, climate justice and adaptation for marginalised groups and under-resourced communities.

Lauren Uğur, Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences, Heilbronn-Sontheim, Germany; freelance business consultant and coach

Lauren Uğur is a Professor of International Tourism Management at Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences, Germany. She holds a PhD in Sociology with a focus on integrated urban and socio-economic development. She also holds an M.Sc. in International Cooperation and Urban Development from the University of Darmstadt and an MBA from the University of South Australia. Her research centers on resilience-building and inclusive development planning. One of her recent publications is the co-edited volume Rethinking Urban Transformations: A New Paradigm for Inclusive Cities (2023, with Dr. Nebojša Čamprag and Dr. Anshika Suri), published by Springer. Lauren's academic path has been strongly interdisciplinary and is complemented by her work as a freelance consultant and business coach. She is also one of the co-founders of plaNext – Next Generation Planning.

Chandrima Mukhopadhyay, Independent researcher, India

Chandrima is an Architect and Planner, with a PhD in Urban Planning from the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, Newcastle University, the UK. Her PhD dissertation was on infrastructure delivery through Public Private Partnership in India. Chandrima has been working for the Association of European School of Planning’s (AESOP’s) Young Academic network since 2011, and has been one of the core founders and the coordinator of the Thematic Group on Global South at AESOP. She has taught at the Faculty of Planning, CEPT University, India, and was a Visiting Scholar at MIT-UTM Malaysia Sustainable Cities Program. She has worked on OPTIMISM, a multi-country large-scale research project based at Ahmedabad University, India, and as a consultant for UN-Habitat India. In the past, she has worked on projects for the Florida Department of Transport while based at Florida State University. Chandrima is an Regional Studies Association (RSA) Fellow.

Sıla Ceren Varış Husar, Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava, Slovakia

Sıla Ceren Varış Husar has a PhD in urban planning from Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Türkiye. Her dissertation focused on regional innovation and its relation to space, people and institutions. She works as a postdoctoral researcher and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow at the Spatial Planning Department at the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava. Her research project, REGINNO, focuses on the socio-spatial dimensions of regional innovation and change agency in Central and Eastern European countries, with a special emphasis on Slovakia. She is on the editorial board of plaNext and she was the chair of the AESOP Young Academics network Coordination Team (2023–2024).

References

Mukhopadhyay, C., Belingardi, C., Papparaldo, G., & Hendawy, M. (Eds.) (2021). Special issue: Planning Practices and Theories from the Global South. Conversations in Planning Theory and Practice Booklet Projects. Dortmund, Germany: Association of European Schools of Planning – Young Academics Network.

Mukhopadhyay, C., & Hammami, F., with Watson, V. (2021). Introduction: Planning theories from ‘southern turn’ to ‘deeply rooted/situated in the South/context’: A project in the making. plaNext – Next Generation Planning, 11, 9–25. https://doi.org/10.24306/plnxt/67

Privitera, E. (2020). The third sector in the planning, production, and regeneration of inclusive public space. Notes from an ongoing experience in a distressed Sicilian neighbourhood. plaNext – Next Generation Planning, 10, 38–57. https://doi.org/10.24306/plnxt/66

Privitera, E., Dhrami K., Madureira, M., Dörder, P., & Toto, R. (2022). Editorial: Planning for Uncertainty. plaNext –Next Generation Planning, 12, 8-12. https://doi.org/10.24306/plnxt/84

Rodrigues, M.L., Savino, W., & Goldenberg, S. (2022). Article-processing charges as a barrier for science in low-to-medium income regions. Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, 117, e220064. https://doi.org/10.1590/0074-02760220064

Rossini, L., Gall, T., & Privitera, E. (2024). Editorial: Social mobilisations and planning through crises. plaNext –Next Generation Planning, 14, 5–10. https://doi.org/10.24306/plnxt/101