1. Introduction
Landscape Architecture welcomes scholarly manuscripts that contribute to research, theory, criticism, design knowledge, environmental understanding, and professional inquiry in landscape architecture and related disciplines. The journal publishes work connected to landscape architecture, architecture, environmental science, engineering, arts and humanities, nature and landscape conservation, urban studies, cultural landscapes, and sustainable spatial planning.
Authors are encouraged to submit original, well-structured, and academically rigorous manuscripts that present clear research questions, sound methods, critical analysis, and meaningful conclusions. Submissions should contribute to the advancement of knowledge in landscape architecture or one of its related fields.
2. Publication Frequency
Landscape Architecture publishes one volume each year, consisting of four issues annually. The journal follows a quarterly publication schedule, with issues published in March, June, September, and December.
Accepted manuscripts are assigned to an upcoming issue after successful completion of editorial screening, single-blind peer review, revision, final editorial approval, copyediting, proofreading, DOI assignment, and production.
3. Types of Manuscripts Accepted
The journal accepts the following categories of scholarly work:
Original research articles
Review articles
Case studies
Design research papers
Theoretical and critical essays
Methodological papers
Comparative studies
Short communications
Research notes
Book reviews, where invited or approved by the editorial office
All submissions should be relevant to the aims and scope of the journal and should demonstrate originality, clarity, scholarly value, and academic integrity.
4. Submission Format
Authors may submit manuscripts in any standard academic format. At the initial submission stage, the journal does not require authors to follow a strict journal template.
Manuscripts may be submitted in either of the following formats:
Microsoft Word:
.docor.docxLaTeX:
.tex, together with a compiled PDF and all required source files
Authors submitting LaTeX files should include all figures, tables, bibliography files, style files, and any other files required to compile the manuscript correctly. A PDF version of the manuscript should also be provided for review purposes.
Although any standard format is acceptable at initial submission, manuscripts should be clear, complete, readable, and consistently formatted throughout. After acceptance, the editorial office may request formatting adjustments to match the journal’s final publication style.
5. Manuscript Language
Manuscripts should be written in clear academic English. Authors are responsible for ensuring that the language is suitable for scholarly publication before submission.
The journal may return manuscripts for language improvement if the text is difficult to understand or if language issues prevent proper peer review. Authors whose first language is not English are encouraged to seek professional language editing or careful proofreading before submission.
6. General Manuscript Structure
A standard research article should normally include the following components:
Title
Author names and affiliations
Corresponding author information
Abstract
Keywords
Introduction
Literature review or background, where appropriate
Materials and methods, research design, or analytical approach
Results or findings
Discussion
Conclusion
Acknowledgements, where applicable
Funding statement
Conflict of interest statement
Ethical approval statement, where applicable
Data availability statement, where applicable
References
Tables and figures
Supplementary material, where applicable
The structure may vary depending on the manuscript type. Theoretical papers, review articles, critical essays, and design research papers may use headings appropriate to their subject and method.
7. Title Page
The title page should include:
Full title of the manuscript
Full names of all authors
Institutional affiliation of each author
Email address of the corresponding author
ORCID iD of each author, if available
Complete correspondence details
Any acknowledgements or funding information, where appropriate
The title should be concise, specific, and informative. It should reflect the main subject, location, method, or contribution of the study.
8. Abstract
Each manuscript should include an abstract. The abstract should clearly summarize the purpose, approach, main findings, and contribution of the paper.
For most research articles, the abstract should normally be between 150 and 250 words. It should be understandable without reference to the full article and should not contain undefined abbreviations, citations, tables, or figures.
9. Keywords
Authors should provide 4 to 8 keywords. Keywords should represent the main themes, methods, location, discipline, and subject matter of the manuscript.
Suitable keywords may include terms such as landscape architecture, green infrastructure, cultural landscape, landscape conservation, urban design, ecological restoration, public space, environmental planning, climate adaptation, and related terms.
10. Main Text
The main text should present the study in a logical and coherent manner. Authors should clearly explain the purpose of the research, its relevance to the field, the methods or approach used, the evidence examined, and the significance of the findings.
The introduction should define the research problem and explain the scholarly context of the work. The methods section should provide enough detail to allow readers to understand how the study was conducted. The results or findings should be presented clearly and objectively. The discussion should interpret the findings in relation to the wider literature, theory, practice, or policy. The conclusion should answer the central research question and explain the contribution of the manuscript.
11. Figures, Maps, Drawings, and Images
Figures, maps, plans, drawings, photographs, diagrams, and other visual materials should be clear, relevant, and properly cited in the text.
Authors should ensure that all visual materials are of sufficient quality for publication. Figures should normally be submitted as separate high-resolution files when requested by the editorial office.
Each figure should include:
Figure number
Short descriptive caption
Source or credit line, where applicable
Permission statement, where required
Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyrighted images, maps, drawings, plans, photographs, or other third-party material.
12. Tables
Tables should be used to present data clearly and efficiently. Each table should be numbered consecutively and cited in the text.
Each table should include:
Table number
Concise title
Explanatory notes, where needed
Source information, where applicable
Tables should not duplicate information already explained in the text. Instead, they should support the analysis and help readers understand the evidence.
13. References and Citation Style
Authors may use any standard academic citation style at the initial submission stage, provided that the style is applied consistently throughout the manuscript.
References should include complete bibliographic details for all cited sources. Every source cited in the text must appear in the reference list, and every source in the reference list must be cited in the manuscript.
After acceptance, the editorial office may request revisions to the reference format to match the journal’s publication style.
14. Research Ethics
Authors must follow accepted standards of research ethics. Studies involving human participants, interviews, surveys, field observations involving identifiable individuals, private data, or sensitive information should include an ethical approval statement where applicable.
Where ethical approval was not required, authors should state this clearly. Authors are responsible for ensuring that consent, confidentiality, data protection, and institutional requirements have been properly addressed.
15. Originality and Plagiarism
Submitted manuscripts must be original and must not be under consideration by another journal at the same time. The journal does not accept plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated data, manipulated evidence, or inappropriate reuse of previously published material.
Authors should properly cite all sources, including text, ideas, data, images, maps, drawings, and other materials taken from published or unpublished works.
The editorial office may screen submissions for plagiarism or similarity before peer review, during review, or before publication.
16. Authorship
All listed authors must have made a meaningful scholarly contribution to the manuscript. Authorship should be limited to individuals who contributed substantially to the conception, design, research, analysis, writing, or revision of the work.
All authors should approve the final version of the manuscript before submission and agree to be accountable for the integrity of the work.
Changes to authorship after submission must be explained in writing and approved by all authors. The journal may request written confirmation from each author before accepting any change in authorship.
17. Conflict of Interest
Authors must disclose any financial, professional, institutional, or personal relationships that could influence, or be perceived to influence, the submitted work.
If there are no conflicts of interest, authors should include the following statement:
“The author(s) declare no conflict of interest.”
18. Funding Statement
Authors should disclose all sources of financial support, grants, sponsorship, institutional funding, or project support related to the research.
If the research received no specific funding, authors may state:
“This research received no external funding.”
19. Data Availability
Where applicable, authors should provide a data availability statement explaining where the data supporting the findings can be accessed.
Examples include:
“The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.”
“The data used in this study are publicly available at [repository/source].”
“No new data were generated or analyzed in this study.”
20. Supplementary Material
Authors may submit supplementary material where it provides useful additional information that supports the manuscript. Supplementary material may include extended datasets, additional images, technical notes, interview protocols, appendices, maps, or detailed methodological information.
Supplementary files should be clearly named and referenced in the manuscript.
21. Peer Review Process
Landscape Architecture uses a single-blind peer review process. In this review model, the reviewers know the identity of the authors, but the identities of the reviewers are not disclosed to the authors.
After submission, the editorial office conducts an initial screening to assess whether the manuscript is complete, suitable for the journal’s aims and scope, and prepared to an acceptable academic standard. Manuscripts that do not meet the journal’s basic requirements may be returned to authors before peer review.
Suitable manuscripts are assigned to an editor and sent to qualified reviewers with expertise in the relevant subject area. Reviewers evaluate the manuscript’s originality, scholarly contribution, methodological quality, clarity of presentation, relevance to the field, ethical compliance, and suitability for publication.
Based on the reviewers’ comments and editorial assessment, the journal may issue one of the following decisions:
Accept
Minor revision
Major revision
Revise and resubmit
Reject
The final decision is made by the editor based on the reviewers’ reports, the quality of the manuscript, the author’s response to review comments, and the journal’s editorial standards.
22. Revisions
When a revision is requested, authors should submit a revised manuscript together with a response letter. The response letter should explain how each reviewer and editor comment has been addressed.
Authors should identify changes clearly in the revised manuscript, either by using tracked changes, highlighting, or another clear method requested by the editorial office.
Revised manuscripts may be returned to the original reviewers or assessed by the editor, depending on the extent of the required changes.
23. Acceptance and Production
After a manuscript is accepted, it enters the production process. The accepted manuscript may undergo copyediting, formatting, reference checking, metadata preparation, DOI assignment, proofreading, and final online publication.
Authors may be asked to review page proofs before publication. Proof corrections should be limited to typographical errors, formatting issues, and minor factual corrections. Major changes to the accepted manuscript are not normally permitted at the proof stage.
24. Open Access Policy
Landscape Architecture is a diamond open access journal. All articles are made freely available online immediately upon publication.
The journal does not charge authors article processing charges, submission fees, publication fees, page charges, figure charges, or DOI registration fees.
25. Copyright and License
Authors retain copyright of their published work. Articles published in Landscape Architecture are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Under this license, readers may read, download, copy, distribute, print, share, adapt, and reuse the published material in any medium or format, provided that proper credit is given to the original author(s), the journal, and the published source.
26. Digital Object Identifier
Each article published in Landscape Architecture receives a unique Digital Object Identifier. The DOI provides a permanent digital link to the article and supports citation, indexing, metadata registration, and long-term access.
27. Withdrawal of Manuscripts
Authors who wish to withdraw a manuscript must submit a written request to the editorial office. The request should include the manuscript title, author names, manuscript ID if available, and the reason for withdrawal.
A manuscript should not be submitted to another journal unless withdrawal has been confirmed by the editorial office.
28. Corrections and Retractions
The journal is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record. Corrections may be issued when errors are identified after publication. Retractions may be issued in cases involving serious ethical concerns, unreliable findings, duplicate publication, plagiarism, or other major breaches of publication ethics.
Requests for corrections should be sent to the editorial office with a clear explanation of the issue.
29. How to Submit
Authors may submit manuscripts in Microsoft Word or LaTeX format. The submission should include the manuscript file, figures and tables where applicable, supplementary material if any, and any required statements relating to ethics, funding, conflict of interest, and data availability.
For manuscript submissions, revision files, publication status, and paper-related inquiries, authors should contact: editassist@landscarchitmag.org
For general journal questions, editorial policies, indexing, permissions, or other journal-related inquiries, please contact: editor@landscarchitmag.org
30. Final Checklist for Authors
Before submitting a manuscript, authors should ensure that:
The manuscript fits the aims and scope of Landscape Architecture
The work is original and not under consideration elsewhere
The manuscript is submitted in Microsoft Word or LaTeX format
The title page includes complete author and affiliation details
The abstract and keywords are included
All figures and tables are numbered and cited in the text
All references are complete and consistently formatted
Permissions have been obtained for third-party material
Funding information is provided
Conflict of interest statement is included
Ethical approval statement is included where applicable
Data availability statement is included where applicable
The corresponding author’s email address is clearly provided
Submissions that meet these requirements can be processed more efficiently by the editorial office.