Springer Nature is now accepting submissions for the special issue “Urban System and Spatial Restructuring from the Perspective of Network Connections”, to be published in Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy.

The special issue will explore how urban systems and spatial structures are being reshaped through network connections and multidimensional flows, with a particular focus on the profound transformations taking place in the context of urban–rural integration, metropolitan development, and coordinated regional growth. By examining how cities at different scales achieve functional coordination, structural optimization, and resource integration through network linkages, this issue aims to offer new perspectives on the optimization of contemporary urban systems.

The journal Applied Spatial Analysis and Policy is dedicated to advancing spatial analysis in relation to a wide range of policy issues, including crime and poverty, migration and demographic restructuring, retail activity and employment change, resource management, and environmental improvement. Through applied research spanning transport, policing, education, health, environment, and leisure, the journal encourages comparative policy analysis across sectors and places while also fostering methodological innovation in the use of spatial analytical approaches in diverse policy contexts.

We welcome submissions addressing, but not limited to, the following topics:

  • Evolution of urban system patterns
  • Evolution of urban agglomeration spatial structures
  • Evolution of population migration networks and spatial patterns
  • Regional industrial division and industrial chain organization
  • Enterprise layout networks and spatial organization
  • Scientific and technological innovation network linkages
  • Cultural communication network linkages
  • Social interaction network linkages
  • Transportation network linkages
  • Environmental and resources network linkages
  • Changes in urban spatial structure
  • Factor linkages in the process of urban-rural integration
  • Quantitative analysis methods and technological innovations for network characteristics
  • Strategies for addressing changes in urban systems and spatial structures

Submissions for the special issue will open on February 28, 2026, and the submission deadline is March 31, 2027. Scholars working in urban geography, regional development, spatial planning, network analysis, transport studies, industrial organization, and related fields are warmly invited to contribute.

Our editorial team is as follows:

  • Chen Chen, PhD
    Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, Shanghai, China.

  • Galuh Indraprahasta
    National Research and Innovation Agency, Jakarta, Indonesia.

  • Tongjing Wang, PhD
    Université Paris-Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.

  • Cai Wu, PhD
    The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, China.

  • Miaoxi Zhao
    South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.

More information about the special issue is available at:

https://link.springer.com/collections/jicbecfhbh