Founded in 2014 by Prof. Nir Mualam, the Lab aims to connect academic knowledge and planning practice. Exploring questions at the intersection of planning and law, lab members engage with practitioners from around the globe, to inform, inspire, and identify best practices across various domains including housing, planning institutions, urban design, public art, urban conservation, and cross-national policy analysis.

Prof. Nir Mualam, an experienced lawyer and urban planner, serves as the chief investigator in the planning policy lab. Mualam specializes in land use planning, litigation, and regulation. He is an expert in policy analysis and provides pro bono advice to both local and national governments. His work has catalyzed modifications in prevailing local and national policy.

Mualam's expertise in planning and law dates back to 2004, when he earned an MPhil from Cambridge University in the Department of Land Economy, specializing in Planning, Growth & Regeneration, achieving overall distinction with the assistance of the Cambridge Prince of Wales Overseas Trust.

From 2004 to 2008, Mualam served as the legal advisor to the Mayor of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, providing counsel to the planning department and the City’s chief engineer. Mualam has litigated numerous cases before appeal tribunals, magistrate, district, and Supreme Court of Israel. He served as the legal advisor for the Local Planning Authority of Tel Aviv, specializing in property law, administrative law, litigation, municipal taxation, land use planning, heritage protection, and company licensing. His practical knowledge underpins the lab's ongoing research.

In 2012, Mualam was appointed as the Gruss-Lipper Fellow at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, New Jersey, and subsequently joined the Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning at the Technion, Israel. During the years 2022-2023, he served as associate dean and received an award of excellence from the Planners’ Association in Israel for his contributions to knowledge and the profession.