The neighborhood is located east of Medveščak Road, the main thoroughfare of its parent city district, on the gentle slopes of the Medvednica.
Due to these factors, real estate in Šalata is relatively expensive compared with other districts, which made it become home to many influential people from the political, musical and sports scene in Croatia.
The urbanization can be explained by its prime location on the slopes of the Medvednica Mountain and its proximity to the Ban Jelačić Square.
[7] Babonićeva Street, connected to the rest of Šalata only by staircases, has recently experienced a rise in construction of luxury apartment buildings three or four stories high, and is the first in Croatia to feature digital homes.
[8] Babonićeva Street used to be a cul-de-sac, but was enlarged upon the construction of apartment buildings at the expense of some orchards owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zagreb, which had a church nearby.
The most expensive houses are primarily located along the major thoroughfares, which tend not to exhibit much traffic due to the Šalata's proximity of Medveščak Road, the main route to the northernmost parts of Zagreb.
[15] The Archdiocesan Classical Gymnasium (Croatian: Nadbiskupska klasična gimnazija) is located nearby on Voćarska Road.
The Interdiocesan Boys' Seminary (Croatian: Međubiskupsko dječačko sjemenište) is located on Voćarska Road, near the church of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Archdiocesan Classical Gymnasium.
In addition to this, Šalata is renowned for being the home of many influential Croatian artists, such as sculptor Vanja Radauš,[20] who owned an atelier on Zmajevac Street and painter Vasilije Jordan.
[26] The biggest cemetery in Zagreb, Mirogoj, is located directly north of Šalata, reachable by Bijenička Road and Bollé Street.
Bollé is responsible for designing the magnificent arcades, which serve the role of Mirogoj western wall, while at the same time being used as graves for honored citizens of Zagreb.
[31] ŠRC Šalata is the home of Športsko društvo Medveščak, the association of 15 sport clubs based in ŠRC Šalata, most notable being ice hockey, basketball, swimming, handball, water polo and tennis clubs, all named Medveščak.
Notable people who live there are Hamed Bangoura, former TV personality and the director of Midikenn fashion model recruitment agency, Savka Dabčević-Kučar, the first woman to be a Prime Minister of Croatia during Josip Broz Tito's reign,[35] Gojko Šušak, the late Croatian Minister of Defense[36] and others.
Andrija Hebrang, the president of Croatian Democratic Union parliamentary group and former Health Minister, lives in an apartment in the newly developed Babonićeva Street.
[37] Gordan Jandroković, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integrations, lives in Ružičnjak Street,[38] not far from the residence of Luka Bebić, the former Croatian Parliamentary Speaker.
[39] Other notable residents and former residents include Zlatko Vitez, an actor and a former Minister of Culture,[40] Ivo Karlović, a tennis player, also known as Div sa Šalate (Šalata Giant),[41][42] Boris Novković, a pop singer-songwriter, Vesna Pusić, the head of Croatian People's Party (HNS) and the current Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integrations[43] and Marin Ivanović "Stoka", a rapper.
[44] Ivica Šerfezi, a late pop singer, and Miroslav Miletić, a classical composer, have lived in Voćarsko naselje, a small, but very densely inhabited part of Šalata located near Voćarska Road.
[45] In 2000, two residential villas on Grškovićeva Street were slated to become the residences of President of Croatia and the Speaker of the Croatian Parliament.