Ivan Šišak earned his degree in Geography from the Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, in 2020. In 2021, he enrolled in the doctoral program Geography: Space, Region, Environment, Landscape at the same faculty. Since then, he has been working as a research and teaching assistant in the Division of Social Geography at the Department of Geography, Faculty of Science. University of Zagreb. His primary research interests include the development and restructuring of rural and transitional areas, spatial planning, regional development, the influence of transport on spatial and regional dynamics, and the transformation of rural and urban development policies in line with the European Union’s development strategies.

Aleksandar Lukić graduated in geography from the Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb in 2001 and enrolled in a postgraduate study programme on the geographic basis of spatial planning in the same year. He attended postdoctoral training at the Countryside and Community Research Institute, University of Gloucestershire, UK (2011). He currently serves as the head of the doctoral programme Geography: Space, Region, Environment, Landscape. His research interest mainly focuses on rural and sub-rural areas. He examines the theoretical approaches, typologies, and scenarios of development in rural areas, the regional and spatial planning of rural and suburban areas, and rural tourism and recreation. From the geographic aspect, he has researched the quality of life in city regions, shopping centres and cycling traffic.  He is involved in applied research and has led or cooperated on many projects for the European Territorial Observatory Network (ESPON), Central Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, City of Zagreb Office for Strategic Planning and Development, and others. He is co-chair of the Commission for the Sustainability of Rural Systems of the International Geographic Union.