Arson Rashidmardani · Graduate urban / transport planner
I work across spatial analysis, policy, urban design and transport to shape well-connected growth, safer movement and places that can be delivered across Tāmaki Makaurau.
Professional profile
A safer crossing, a legible network, a public space people choose to use, or a delivery sequence that can actually happen. I use field audits, GIS, policy analysis and engagement to make the problem legible, compare options and translate findings into spatial or policy responses.
Auckland project map
Select a location to see the planning question, method, contribution and proposal.
Transit-supportive masterplanning
An individual blue-green masterplan for approximately 3,300 proposed dwellings, structured around a community node, water-sensitive streets and access to Smales Farm station.
Selected urban planning, design and transport work
These projects show how I investigate a place, develop options and translate analysis into spatial proposals and implementation steps.
Case study 01
Highland Park · East Auckland · 2026
A safety and accessibility audit identified missing crossings, driveway conflicts and discontinuous walking and cycling routes. The strategy compares transport pathways before specifying immediate, medium-term and long-term network changes.
Field and spatial analysis located missing crossings, high-risk desire lines, poor lighting and network discontinuities.
Walking-and-cycling investment was compared with a technology-led pathway using sourced emissions scenarios, co-benefits, public acceptability and delivery risk.
Raised crossings, continuous footpaths and speed management build toward protected cycling, public-realm improvements and a median rapid-transit corridor.
Case study 02
High Street · Auckland City Centre · 2025
A walking-safety audit, public-life survey and movement analysis informed a tactical-to-permanent framework that prioritises pedestrians while retaining defined windows for servicing and access.
Counts, movement mapping and observations identified pedestrian congestion, limited seating and low traffic volumes alongside genuine servicing needs.
Retractable bollards, an extended planted boardwalk, raised crossings and parklets create a pedestrian-first street with two daily servicing windows.
The group action plan assigns indicative timing, stakeholders, funding status and cost bands rather than presenting a design without an implementation route.
Case study 03
Onehunga · Auckland isthmus · 2025
The group framework treats development capacity, flooding, public space and transport as one system. My individual follow-on report developed the blue-green network key move and its delivery implications.
Linear parks are proposed to convey water, close active-travel gaps, connect growth areas and improve access to open space.
The framework records approximate retention volume, network length, green-space area and affected properties so that delivery consequences remain visible.
Raised crossings, cycle connections and a rail passing loop are staged alongside blue-green delivery and redevelopment areas.
Case study 04
AF Thomas Park · Wairau Valley · 2025
The individual final masterplan accommodates approximately 3,300 proposed dwellings at 126 dwellings per hectare while using water-sensitive streets, a central community node and direct local movement connections to structure the neighbourhood.
Rainwater collection, green roofs, multifunctional streets and wetland connections respond to flood risk while shaping the public realm.
A permeable movement network links homes to community facilities, open space and Smales Farm station.
Plans, sections, massing and ground-level views test whether the density and network logic produce a credible everyday environment.
Hono Wai project film
The walkthrough moves from the masterplan into the proposed streets, community node and blue-green public realm, testing how density might feel at eye level.
Planning approach
Select a topic to see the practical test I apply and the project where it is visible.
What it means in practice
Treat movement, land use, public realm and climate as one place system.
The Onehunga framework pairs growth staging with active travel, rail service and blue-green infrastructure.
Professional experience
Retail leadership has developed the operational habits I bring to planning: understand the user, document the process, communicate decisions clearly and improve systems without losing sight of day-to-day delivery.
Mobie · Newmarket
August 2022–presentContact
Available for 2027 graduate opportunities