Asya Natapov

Dr. Asya Natapov is a Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning and Design at Loughborough University, serving as Deputy Programme Leader and member of the Transport and Urban Planning research group. Her work bridges urban design, spatial cognition, and computation to redefine urban planning through adaptive, integrative approaches prioritizing walkability and sustainability. She utilizes immersive VR experiments and behavioral studies to model visual perception's role in spatial memory and navigation.

Education: Holds a BArch (Architecture), MSc, PhD, and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).

Research focuses on spatial cognition, urban morphology, and the interplay between visual perception and urban activities. Current projects include The Impact Hub (Town Deal Grant), Branching Out (NERC/AHRC/ESRC), and collaborations with institutions like the Stockholm Environment Institute and Forest Research UK. Completed projects include post-war reconstruction modeling (Ukraine), AgeCogCity (EU Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship), and studies on gender dynamics in markets (Israel Science Foundation).

Her articles explore micromobility, pedestrian behavior, and VR applications. Notable outcomes include POI VizNet (QGIS tool for visibility networks) and frameworks for refining urban accessibility metrics using street imagery.

Awards include the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (2020). She advises PhD candidates in spatial cognition, urban design, and computational methods, with ongoing grants totaling over £4M in collaborations.