We welcome contributions from outside our team. To discuss a topic, or inquire about possible collaborations, please contact the editors: Foteini Tsigoni, Yi Kwan Chan, Eliane Schmid and Wenjun Feng. Please take a look at our guidelines before sending in your contribution.
For submission, please contact us at portcityfutures.blog@gmail.com.
Guidelines
Aim
Contribute to the socio-spatial and cultural discussion on port city regions, engage in research among ourselves and develop shared definitions, terminologies, etc., inform about the latest research, and present the Port City Futures network to those who are working on or interested in the topic.
General
The overall goal of a PCF blog post is to present your idea(s). Unlike more extensive journal articles, blog posts are concise and focused on delivering a targeted message
Aim for a length of around 800–1.000 words, with at least 1 supporting image
Follow the classic structure of an article: catchy title / short introduction / ca. three short paragraphs / conclusion
Topics (all PCF related): current events (political, cultural, societal, …) / historical narratives / opinion pieces / evolving research arguments and theories / contemporary discussions / dare to put forward ponderings, theories, criticism and provocative statements – but remain respectful
Use the template below to write and submit your blog post
Questions: do not hesitate to reach out to the PCF blog editorial team portcityfutures.blog@gmail.com
Submission: Please submit via email to portcityfutures.blog@gmail.com
Language
Style: accessible academic / interdisciplinary / polished and polite colloquial tone / motivated
Word choice: no jargon / explain key words and concepts / write for an interdisciplinary, interested and broad (also non-academic) audience
Spell check: consistency in language and grammar (American English)
References
APA 7th style: https://www.tudelft.nl/tulib/apa-citation-examples
In-text citation: author, year, page number
Bibliography: short / relevant literature
Images: at least 1 supporting image / free of copyrights / description of the image + reference/rights directly below in caption / creativity is welcome (drawings, photography, etc.)
Acknowledgements
In general: generosity with acknowledging sources of inspiration (it shows a sense of community and open-mindedness and in no way weakens your own arguments)
PCF community: please add the text provided in the template below
Review system
Review, editing and copy writing are done by the PCF blog editorial team, and shared with author(s) through Google Docs
Revisions and responses to the reviews are welcome and encouraged
Planning
Date of publication discussed and decided on with the author(s) to ensure a pragmatic and efficient planning upon submission
Language & Style
A bit more on language and style:
Steven Pinker, A Sense of Style, 2014
Or watch a lecture on his book: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkxUV5p_RI0
A policy blog on avoiding jargon:
https://plainlanguage.gov/resources/articles/keep-it-jargon-free/
A fun and extensive article on jargon:
https://www.csun.edu/~vcecn006/jargob.html
A guide on writing for the internet:
https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/support/um-employees/communications-guide/writing/writing-internet
On the importance of metaphors:
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200710-the-words-that-stretch-how-we-think
(revised version 19 August 2024)