About the Journal

Journal of Geospatial Urban Analytics (JGUA) is a peer-reviewed, international, diamond open-access journal dedicated to publishing high-quality research at the intersection of spatial data science, explainable artificial intelligence (GeoAI), urban remote sensing, and environmental justice.

Our Mission

Contemporary cities face pressing socio-environmental challenges, from extreme urban heat and chronic air pollution to spatial inequality and unequal access to services. Traditional urban scholarship often relies on restrictive linear models, while routine applications of machine learning frequently act as "black boxes" that overlook spatial autocorrelation and data leakage.

JGUA aims to bridge this methodological divide. We provide an interdisciplinary platform for studies that combine advanced spatial statistics, non-linear machine learning, and multi-source geospatial data to understand complex urban systems. We place particular emphasis on explainability, rigorous spatial validation, and empirical work that links urban form with socioeconomic realities in both the Global North and rapidly transforming cities of the Global South.

What We Publish

JGUA welcomes original research articles, comprehensive review papers, and methodological contributions across four interconnected themes:

  • GeoAI and spatial machine learning: explainable and spatially robust modeling of urban and environmental systems.
  • Urban environmental sensing: satellite and sensor-based analysis of urban heat, air quality, and microclimate.
  • Urban morphology and mobility: proximity, accessibility, walkability, and the 15-minute city.
  • Environmental justice and spatial equity: who bears environmental risk, and evidence-based policy for fairer cities.

Diamond Open Access

JGUA is committed to open science. There are no article processing charges and no submission fees. All published articles are freely and immediately available to readers worldwide under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. Authors retain copyright and full publishing rights to their work.

Peer Review

All submissions undergo an initial editorial screening for scope, scientific rigor, and academic integrity, including similarity checks. Manuscripts that pass screening are reviewed through a double-blind process by at least two independent expert reviewers.

Independent and Community-Driven

JGUA is an independent, community-driven initiative, not tied to any publisher or institution. It is built and run by volunteer editors and reviewers who share a commitment to transparent, accessible, and high-quality scholarship.