Asef is an urban planner by education and practice, holding a PhD in Urban Planning, Design, and Policy from Politecnico di Milano. He is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Laboratorio di Simulazione Urbana Fausto Curti (LabSimUrb), Department of Architecture and Urban Studies (DAStU), Politecnico di Milano, within the EUI GOCCIA project. His postdoctoral work focuses on exploring and modeling future human-nature relations and urban transformation scenarios. During his PhD, carried out within the National Biodiversity Future Center (NBFC), Asef investigated integrating social impact assessment and ecosystem services into adaptive urban planning for biodiversity, with a focus on the local scale, in collaboration with actors and decision-makers.
His research interests span adaptive urban planning, social-ecological systems analysis, social impact assessment, urban biodiversity, and re-naturing strategies. He has led peer-reviewed publications and conducted reports on the assessment and evaluation of social-ecological systems. Alongside his research, he has continuously held Teaching assistantship positions at DAStU, Politecnico di Milano. Prior to joining Politecnico di Milano, Asef worked with Isfahan Municipality and consulting studios in Iran as a spatial analyst and GIS cartographer, contributing to regeneration and urban design programs across the Isfahan metropolitan area.