Gonçalo Folgado is an architect, urbanist, lecturer and civic practitioner working at the intersection of communities, institutions and academia. He is Locals Approach’s CEO, a Portuguese civil society organisation specialised in participatory urbanism, civic participation and community-led territorial development. For more than a decade, his work has focused on designing and facilitating processes that strengthen cooperation, social cohesion and democratic participation in contexts marked by social fragmentation, inequality and institutional distrust. Through long-term engagement with local communities, public institutions, universities and grassroots organisations, he explores how trust can be cultivated through shared action and how relational infrastructures can support more resilient and democratic territories. Alongside his civic practice, Gonçalo teaches Architecture and Urbanism at the Autonomous University of Lisbon and is currently pursuing a PhD focused on the relationship between urban form, collective intelligence and civic life.