COVID-19 and Marginalisation of People and Places Impacts, Responses and Observed Effects of COVID-19 on Geographical Marginality

Borna Fuerst-Bjeliš is geographer and environmental historian. She is the senior researcher and full professor at the University of Zagreb. Her research interests are mainly focused on borderlands areas, spatial perceptions and spatial (regional) identities, environmental history and landscape change with particular focus on marginality issues.  She served as the vice-president of the European Society for Environmental History (2017-19), and currently (since 2020) she is the chair of the IGU Commission on Marginalization, Globalization and Regional and Local Response. She has co-authored and edited/co-edited 10 books, published 101 papers among which 66 peer reviewed scientific book chapters and research journal articles.  

Etienne Nel is a Professor in the School of Geography at the University of Otago in New Zealand. His research interests lie in the areas of regional and local economic development,small town and community development in Africa and Australasia. He chaired the IGU Commission on Marginalization, Globalization, and Regional and Local Responses from 2004-2012. He was the Managing Editor of the New Zealand Geographer (2012-18) and is currently the Commissioning Editor for the Journal of Geography in Higher Education & for Local Economy. He has co-authored or co-edited 11 books, 6 conference proceedings, 48 book chapters and 112 articles.  

Stanko Pelc is professor of geography, studied at Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Architecture, Construction and Geodesy (MSc) at the University of Ljubljana and Faculty of Science at the University of Zagreb (PhD). He has been involved in rural development and planning of transportation systems; worked as university teacher at the University of Ljubljana and University of Maribor. At present he teaches at the departments of pre-school and primary education as well as at the geography department at the University of Primorska in Koper. His research interests cover many different fields such as demography, transportation geography, local and regional development, marginality and marginalisation especially its social dimension and in educational context. He is (co)author of 25 scientific articles, 22 published scientific conference contributions, 29 component parts or chapters in monographs, (co)edited seven books; is author of two books and one university textbook (in Slovenian).