João Morais Mourato is an Assistant Researcher at the Institute of Social Sciences of the University of Lisbon. His research focuses on the evolutionary dynamics of Spatial Planning as a public policy in Portugal. In particular, he analyzes learning processes and institutional adaptation logic in the face of a changing legal, regulatory, and political framework.
He holds a degree in Architecture/Urban Management from the Faculty of Architecture of the Technical University of Lisbon. He holds a PhD in Town Planning from the Bartlett School of Planning, University College London, with a dissertation on the impact of the Europeanisation process on the elaboration of the National Program for Spatial Planning Policy (PNPOT).
He has participated in several projects on the perspectives of development and territorial cohesion of the European Union, funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and the European Spatial Planning Observation Network (ESPON). He also served as a consultant on this topic for the Directorate-General for Spatial Planning and Urban Development (DGOTDU – CEMAT/UNECE).