Bridging generations: A decade of open peer review and collective knowledge-building in planning scholarship through plaNext

Abstract

This article presents a transgenerational dialogue between founding and current editorial board members of plaNext – Next Generation Planning, marking the journal’s 10th anniversary. Through reflective conversation, the authors explore the origins and evolution of open peer review in plaNext, examining its role as a supportive, transparent, and mentorship-driven model for early career scholars. The discussion revisits the motivations behind launching the journal within the AESOP Young Academics Network, recounts milestones in its development, and considers the implications of recent indexing in Scopus. Participants critically analyse tensions between visibility, institutional expectations, inclusivity, and maintaining the journal’s original mission. They also address broader issues of power, bias, review ethics, sustainability of editorial labour, and the challenges faced by early career researchers in contemporary academic publishing. The article concludes by outlining visions for the future, emphasizing the need for plaNext to remain a space of experimentation, support, intergenerational collaboration, and alternative knowledge-production practices.