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Change and Continuity

Article  in  Environment and Planning D Society and Space · February 2007

DOI: 10.1068/d2501ed

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Environment and Planning D: Society and Space 2007, volume 25, pages 1 ^ 4

DOI:10.1068/d2501ed

Editorial

Change and continuity

It is with considerable pleasure that I take over as the editor of Society and Space. The
journal celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary this year, yet I am only its third editor.
My predecessors are Michael Dear, and for the last fifteen years Gerry Pratt. Gerry
has served the journal with energy and distinction, and I am deeply grateful for the
work that she has done. Gerry has passed on the journal in
good health, and with an impressive set of papers already
scheduled for this year's issues.
There have been a number of other changes. I am
delighted that Gerry has agreed to remain centrally involved
in the journal as one of the coeditors, and that Nigel Thrift
has agreed to continue as coeditor too. Peter Jackson and
Derek Gregory have left the editorial team, although Derek
has joined the editorial board, and on behalf of editors past
and present I would like to thank them for their contribu-
tion to the journal over several years. Their work for the
journal will continue to be appreciated, both in terms of its
impact and recognition, but also in the papers they have
seen through the review process that are yet to appear.
Two new coeditors have joined the teamöEmily Brady and Eduardo Mendieta. Emily
is a lecturer in human geography at the University of Edinburgh, with a background in
environmental philosophy, ethics, and aesthetics. Her interests include work on nature,
landscape, and conservation. She is perhaps best known
for her 2003 book Aesthetics of the Natural Environment
(Edinburgh University Press). Eduardo is a professor of
philosophy at Stony Brook University, New York. He has
worked in a range of areas, including Latin-American studies,
critical theory, and the philosophy of geopolitics and race. His
book Global Fragments: Critical Theory, Latin America and
Globalizations is forthcoming with SUNY Press.
The editorsöGerry, Nigel, Eduardo, Emily, and myselfö
bring a range of experience and interests, both within
geography and beyond, to the journal. In addition, the edi-
torial board has been renewed, with a number of people
stepping down and their replacements coming on board.
I am extremely grateful to Nick Blomley, Cindi Katz, Doreen
Massey, Kathryn Mitchell, Laura Pulido, Neil Smith, and
Sharon Zukin for their work on the journal, many of whom
have been involved for some time. Marcus Doel, Felix Driver,
John Law, Danny Miller, Meaghan Morris, Elspeth Probyn,
Anna Secor, Wing Shing Tang, and Oren Yiftachel have agreed
to continue, and I would like to thank them for their support
past, present, and future for the journal, as well as for the
welcome they have shown to me.
2 Editorial

One of the first, and most pleasant, jobs I have had as editor has been to invite
a number of people to bring their talents to the editorial board. Inevitably I was
spoilt for choice. Nonetheless, I believe that the new people involved, along with those
continuing, constitute an extremely diverse and exciting group whose expertise I can
drawn upon in taking the journal forward. I would therefore like to welcome Andrew
Barry (Geography, Oxford University); Deborah Bird Rose (Centre for Resource
and Environmental Studies, Australian National University); Mustafa Dikec° (Geogra-
phy, Royal Holloway); Roxanne Doty (Political Science, Arizona State University);
Jenny Edkins (International Politics, University of Aberystwyth); Marieke de Goede
(European Studies, University of Amsterdam); Maria Margaroni (English Studies,
University of Cyprus); Amos Nascimento (Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, Univer-
sity of Washington, Tacoma); and Natalie Oswin (Geography, National University of
Singapore).
This listing, along with those who remain on the board, should demonstrate our
commitment to two things. First, the disciplinary range of the journal. Society and
Space, by the very nature of the questions it addresses, is an inherently interdisciplin-
ary journal. The journal has always reached beyond its disciplinary home of geography,
and it has been gratifying to see the range of papers appearing in the journal, and the
new submissions coming in. Nonetheless, we seek to broaden this aspect of its work
further over the coming years. Second, that the journal seeks to be international in its
focus, and to publish work coming from across the world. It is therefore international
in content, contribution, and readership. Over the next few years we want to bring
a number of non-English debates and voices to the attention of readers, which will be
both through the submissions we receive and the translations we plan to commission.
Yet despite the strong team I have around me, I take over with some inevitable
apprehension. There are many things I would like to do with the journal during my
time as editor, but I am conscious that my enthusiasm should not get in the way of
what the journal does so wellöpublish challenging, well-written, and theoretical inno-
vative contributions to ongoing debates, as well as sparking fresh ideas and mapping
new directions. In that respect, as in others, Gerry's time as editor is a hard act to
follow.
One of the first things many people will notice about the journal is that that the
submission procedure has changed. Papers should now be submitted electronically to
epd.societyandspace@durham.ac.uk. This e-mail will be answered by Kathy Wood of
the Durham Department of Geography Research Office, who is the journal's Editorial
Assistant. Durham University has enthusiastically welcomed the journal, and I am
sure that many of you will have contact with Kathy either as author or referee over
the coming years.
This centralised system replaces the previous model of submission to individual
editors. When papers arrive they are circulated between the editor and coeditors for
initial discussion. Some papers are returned to authors at this stage; others go forward
to review. Our aim with this policyöone used by many other journals either formally
or informallyöis that papers which are unsuitable for the journal in either style,
content, or execution are processed quickly, rather than using referees to confirm the
editors' views. We are of course extremely grateful to our refereesöwith the exception
of those who fail to submit reports when agreed, of courseöand see this procedural
change as, in part, a process of asking for peer review when the time demands are well
spent.
As this current issue shows, the journal has also expanded in size. The quantity and
quality of submissions had meant that the queue ötime from acceptance to publica-
tionöhad become increasingly, and unacceptably, long. The increase in pages has
Editorial 3

allowed us to bring a number of papers further up the queue, and to decrease the
waiting time for authors, and indeed readers. Those of you reading this journal
online will also notice the redesigned website for all four journals in the Environment
and Planning group. More information on these changes is found in the following
announcement from the publishers, Pion.
Society and Space therefore continues to provide a forum for discussing the relation
between the spatial and the social. Indeed, we would suggest that this is a mutually
constitutive relation, in which to discuss either without regard to the other would be to
make a false separation. The journal has a number of key aims in thinking this
through. It seeks to be philosophically sophisticated, drawing on a range of contem-
porary and historical theories and theorists, both in terms of utilising their insights,
exposing their blindspots, and advancing their ideas. It seeks to be practically relevant,
demonstrating the crucial importance of spatial relations and the insights that can be
produced from this perspective. In following these aims the journal's vision is a call to
concretely theorise, and to undertake this through a range of contemporary, historical,
political, and cultural contexts.
For those of us involved in the journal, space is broadly conceived. It stretches from
landscapes of the body to global geographies; it extends from cyberspace to old-growth
forests; it is both metaphorical and material; equally theoretically nuanced and empiri-
cally rich. Interpretations move across theoretical and empirical spectrums, from
psychoanalysis to political economy; anthropology to literature; and philosophy to
architecture. The journal editors are equally committed to the spatial aspects of political
action and the abstractions of social theory. We believe that this commitment is best
achieved by keeping a balance between, and placing into creative tension, economic,
political, and cultural analyses, informed by theoretical innovation and underpinned by
a range of empirical research. We hope that debates within social/spatial theory will
take place within the journal rather than this journal being seen as a home for one side
of such discussions. As such we encourage pieces that challenge, critique, develop, and
break with traditions, orthodoxies, and perspectives öold or newöincluding those
that some may feel are associated with this journal and those involved with it.
The journal regularly includes editorials and commentaries, and these will continue
to be commissioned and welcomed. Recently they have included analyses of Fallujah
and Abu-Ghraib; the Asian Tsunami; and Hurricane Katrina. These have provided
perspectives on contemporary events and debates with a speed that academic journals
are often unable to do. We believe they demonstrate the impact that a spatial and
nondisciplinary geographical perspective can provide, and hope that they continue
to inform, challenge, and provoke. We will continue to publish book reviews and
occasional extended review essays. Some issues are devoted in whole or in part to
a particular theme, and we look forward to receiving proposals for these.
The journal therefore invites submissions from geography, cultural studies, economics,
anthropology, sociology, politics, international relations, literary studies, architecture,
planning, history, women's studies, art history, and philosophy; and other disciplines
and areas that can contribute to the dialogue between society and space. We are committed
to publishing the very best work, regardless of its provenance, and look forward to
receiving your submissions.
$ $ $

Shortly before this issue went to press, we were deeply saddened to hear of the death
of Allan Pred, professor of geography at University of California, Berkeley. Allan
has published extensively in and beyond geography, and was a contributor to and
good friend of this journal, serving two stints as a member of the editorial board.
4 Editorial

A session in his memory is being organised at the Association of American Geographers

to be held in San Francisco in April this year. We hope to carry the papers from that
session in a subsequent issue of this journal. In this issue, by way of modest tribute,
and because of what we feel is its contemporary importance, we publish Allan's
Commencement Address to geography students at Berkeley, given on 13 May 2006.
A piece he describes as `a final geography lesson', it seems to us to demonstrate the way
in which Allan put into practice some words he placed on his Berkeley website, ones
which we would embrace as a guide for this journal. The last words are therefore left to
Allan.
``I am totally unconcerned with the disciplinary limits of geography, but fully
concerned with geography as an ontological condition, as an inescapable existential
reality.''
Stuart Elden

Publisher's announcement
The editors and publishers are concerned about the backlog between receipt and
publication of papers and we are taking a number of steps to overcome the problem.
This year we are increasing the number of pages by 20%. By instituting various
cost-saving measures, we have kept the price increase to about 7%.
One of these measures has been to replace author reprints with PDFs. Apart from
the cost saving, we were not happy with the service we were providing authors, and
many authors have asked for PDFs instead of reprints. We will continue to send the
lead author of each paper a copy of the journal in which his or her paper appears.
Another advantage of switching to PDFs is that we can make better use of the space
available in the printed journal. Papers will no longer have to begin on a right-hand
page. In the past about five papers an issue have ended with a blank page. So, over a
year, we will be able to publish another two papers.
At the end of 2005 we promised that we would begin to put completed papers on
the web when they are ready, in advance of final web and paper publication, in a new
``forthcoming papers'' section. We are sorry that this did not happen. We decided to
wait until we had revamped our website. Advanced online publication will begin
shortly. Only subscribers will be able to view the full paper, but all visitors to the site
will be able to read the abstract.
The revamped website (http://www.envplan.com) has a number of new features:
Linked references: Each abstract is now accompanied by a set of references containing,
where available, direct DOI links to cited articles (links are provided by CrossRef ).
This service is available only to institutional print subscribers.
RSS alerting service: We now provide an RSS feed, which allows users to receive the
latest titles and abstracts as soon as they are available.
Advanced abstract searching: Abstracts can now be searched with Boolean logic opera-
tion; for example, ``(urban or town) planning'' will return all documents containing
either `urban' and `planning', or `town' and `planning'.
OpenURL functionality: For users in participating institutions, we now provide OpenURL
functionality, which provides information on local library resources.

ß 2007 a Pion publication printed in Great Britain

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