M.A.P Studio Movement & Place
Integrated Mobility, Place and Spatial Strategy

Planning and design for how people move through a place, and how it feels when they get there

I help councils, agencies and developers decide where things should go, how people will move between them, and how it all fits the landscape. From city transport strategy and funding to landscape assessment and the detail of a single street or boardwalk.

Get in touch What I do
MOVEMENT PLACE
Experience~19 years in urban mobility and landscape architecture
PerspectiveConsultant and current client-side experience
RegisteredLandscape architect (NZILA)
Working acrossNew Zealand · Australia · the Pacific
Services

From strategy and funding, through design and approvals, to delivery

01

Strategy, planning & investment

  • Transport strategy that brings capital and operational projects into one defensible programme
  • LTP / IP&R, asset management and funding inputs, prioritisation, grant submissions and business cases
  • Growth and land-use integration: spatial, local area and precinct plans, growth sequencing, public transport and rapid transit corridors
  • Movement and place frameworks and network planning
  • Sustainable urban mobility plans for Pacific towns and cities
  • Elected member and committee support: briefings, workshops and plain-English advice
02

Design & delivery leadership

  • Design management: leading multidisciplinary teams and sub-consultants from strategic framework to detailed design
  • Programme and project management for urban mobility programmes: scope, schedule, budget, risk and reporting
  • Optioneering, MCA and preferred-option development
  • Co-design and stakeholder engagement, including site-based “Design by Hikoi” walkovers
  • Tactical urbanism and pilots that test ideas before permanent investment
03

Landscape assessment & planning

  • Landscape and visual effects assessments for resource consents and notices of requirement
  • Peer review of landscape assessments for councils
  • Natural character, outstanding landscape and feature studies for district and regional plans
  • Expert evidence at council hearings and the Environment Court
  • Siting, mitigation planting and rehabilitation design
04

Specialist design advice

  • Walking, cycling and micromobility planning and design
  • Universal design and accessibility reviews
  • Resort and tourism access, trails and boardwalks
  • Urban design and landscape architecture
01 · Strategy, planning and investment

Clear strategy that leads to funded, deliverable programmes

Helping councils and agencies decide what to invest in, why, and in what order, with a clear line from strategy to programme to projects. Informed by current client-side experience of long-term plans and funding cycles.

Transport strategy and programmes

Bringing capital works and operational projects together into one defensible strategy or programme, linked to outcomes, evidence and funding.

Funding and investment inputs

LTP, IP&R and asset management inputs, programme prioritisation, NZTA and Transport for NSW funding and grant submissions, and business case material.

Growth and land-use integration

Spatial, local area and precinct plans, intensification, growth and infrastructure sequencing, and public transport, rapid transit and park and ride planning.

Movement and place frameworks

Defining the role and function of each street, corridor typologies and network planning, with options tested using transport model outputs where needed.

Sustainable urban mobility plans

For Pacific towns and cities: practical, low-data evidence, inclusive and gender-responsive walking strategies, climate resilience, and costed action plans for development partners.

Elected member and committee support

Briefings, workshops and plain-English advice that help decision-makers understand the trade-offs and make confident decisions.

Selected work
Cambridge Connections Waipā District Council. Movement and place framework and strategic transport network review, including scenario testing with the regional transport model.
Hamilton Local Area Plans Hamilton City Council. Urban mobility lead for four area plans supporting growth and intensification.
Eastern Pathways Programme Hamilton City Council. 46 network links and corridor typologies, with costings feeding the Long Term Plan.
Supporting Growth Alliance NZTA and Auckland Transport. Network design process and principles for active modes across Auckland's future growth areas.
Hamilton biking connectivity programme Hamilton City Council. Identified and prioritised gaps in the city's cycle network to complement major capital investment.
Pacific urban mobility plans Proposed Team Lead in 2026 for sustainable urban mobility plans in Honiara and Port Vila and an inclusive walking strategy for Suva.
02 · Design and delivery leadership

Turning agreed strategy into designs that can be consented, funded and built

Leading multidisciplinary teams, sub-consultants and stakeholders from strategic framework through concept, developed and detailed design, keeping projects on scope, on programme and connected to the outcomes they were funded for.

Design management

Leading civil, traffic, stormwater, landscape and planning inputs, coordinating approvals such as Reviews of Environmental Factors, and keeping design decisions clear and documented.

Programme and project management

Scoping, scheduling, budget and risk management, client and partner reporting, and decision-making processes for urban mobility programmes.

Optioneering and MCA

Long and short lists, multi-criteria assessment and preferred-option development that stakeholders can follow and support.

Co-design and engagement

Workshops with councils, communities, schools and elected members, and site-based “Design by Hikoi” walkovers that build shared understanding early.

Tactical urbanism and pilots

Low-cost trials that test ideas on the street before permanent investment, delivered quickly with a network rather than site-by-site approach.

Standards and design review

Helped write Auckland Transport's walking and cycling design guidance, and served on its design review panel for council projects.

Selected work
Todman Ave & Lenthall St Randwick City Council, Sydney. Project lead and design manager from strategic framework to detailed design; endorsed by Councillors for consultation.
Kingsford to Centennial Park Randwick City Council, Sydney. Project director for refining a 2.8 km separated cycleway to reduce cost and construction disruption.
Hospital to City Centre and Travel Choices Hamilton City Council. Design manager through co-design, concept and detailed design on complex, high-traffic corridors.
Waitematā Connections Alliance NZTA. Active mode lead through the indicative business case and pricing pack phases.
Streets for People, Cambridge Waipā District Council. 25 interventions co-designed with four schools, giving a 58% increase in children cycling to school.
Claudelands Road cycleway Hamilton City Council. Concept design manager for Hamilton's first on-road separated cycleway.
03 · Landscape assessment and peer review

Independent landscape advice for applicants, councils and the court

Clear, well-reasoned assessment of how development changes a landscape and how people will experience it, backed by nearly two decades of landscape planning, assessment and expert evidence across New Zealand.

Landscape and visual effects assessment

Independent assessment of how a proposal will change a landscape and how it will look from homes, roads, beaches and public places. Clear reporting, viewpoint photography and practical mitigation that supports a consent or notice of requirement.

Peer review for councils

Reviewing applicants' landscape assessments to check the method, findings and mitigation are sound, often including a site walkover with the applicant's assessor. Recent reviews include a quarry extension for Hauraki District Council and a retirement village development.

Natural character and outstanding landscapes

District and regional studies that identify the most natural and valued coastlines, landscapes and landforms, so plans protect what matters and are clear for landowners. Includes property-level boundary reviews and landowner feedback.

Expert evidence

Evidence at council hearings and in Environment Court mediation and appeals, including expert caucusing and site visits with affected landowners. Experienced in presenting technical findings in plain terms for commissioners and the court.

Infrastructure and transport projects

Landscape input from route options through to consent for roads, cycleways, reservoirs, wastewater plants, quarries, mines and energy projects, working alongside engineers to fit infrastructure into its setting.

Design and mitigation

Turning assessment findings into design: siting and form, planting and screening, staged rehabilitation, and landscape management plans that make a better project, not only a consentable one.

Selected landscape work
Natural Character Assessment and appeals Thames-Coromandel District Council, 2015–2024. Coastal natural character mapping, mediation and Environment Court evidence.
Outstanding Natural Features study Auckland Council. Field evaluation of 270 geological sites. NZILA Distinction Award, 2012.
Regional natural character studies Auckland Region and West Coast Region coastal natural character, and outstanding landscape reviews for the Kaimai Ranges and coastal dunefields.
Peer reviews Spence Road Quarry for Hauraki District Council; coastal subdivisions at Tairua and Otama Beach for Thames-Coromandel District Council; Brooklyn wind turbine for Wellington City Council.
Infrastructure assessments Runciman reservoirs for Watercare (hearing evidence); Mangatangi open-cast mine (evidence, mitigation and closure planting); Foxton wastewater on an outstanding landscape island.
Transport assessments Northern Pathway, AMETI and East West Link landscape, visual and natural character inputs for NZTA and Auckland Transport.
04 · Specialist design advice

Hands-on design where people walk, cycle and spend time

Specialist advice on the details that make streets, paths and public spaces work well, from city cycleways to resort boardwalks and tourism trails.

Walking, cycling and micromobility

Network and route design, intersections and crossings, shared paths and separated cycleways, balancing engineering constraints with how comfortable people feel using them.

Universal design and accessibility

Grades, widths, landings, rest areas, edges, handrails and surfaces that work for wheelchairs, prams, older people and people with limited vision.

Resort and tourism access

How guests, staff, buggies and service vehicles move around a site, and the boardwalks and trails that link it all through dunes, wetlands, bush and coastal edges.

Experiential walking and cycling tourism

Trails people want to do: a clear story, the right distance, rest stops, viewpoints, shade and wayfinding, shaped with landowners and communities.

Urban design and landscape architecture

Streetscapes, public spaces and planting design suited to their setting, including coastal and tropical conditions.

Crime prevention through environmental design

Lighting, sightlines and natural surveillance so paths and public spaces feel safe day and night without losing their character.

Selected work
Northern Pathway NZTA. Walking and cycling specialist on accessible design and the experience of Auckland's harbour crossing.
Tāmaki Drive cycleway Auckland Transport. Specialist active mode and landscape input on Auckland's waterfront, including a new pedestrian bridge.
Auckland Transport design guidance Drafted guidance on shared paths and on pedestrian landings and rest areas, informed by universal accessibility audits.
Coastal planting and rehabilitation Including 30 ha of native replanting at Whaorei Bay and restoring a 266 ha coastal station at Kaikōura.
Walking and cycling tourism Work with Tūwharetoa near Lake Taupō on experiential walking and cycling routes.
Healthy Streets Healthy Streets Design Practitioner, applying the approach to street and corridor design.
How I work

Simple to engage

Remote or embedded

Working from Cambridge, Waikato, or alongside your team, with regular site visits for projects further afield.

Start small

Happy to begin with a defined piece of work, such as a peer review or site walkover, and build from there.

Senior, without the overheads

You work directly with me, at competitive sole-trader rates.

Easy in Australia

Australian engagements are contracted through partner Railize, covering ABN and insurance requirements.

Where I work

New Zealand · Australia · the Pacific

Aotearoa New Zealand

Councils, NZTA and developers. LTP, AMP and RLTP inputs, NZTA investment and funding submissions, business cases, local area plans, design management, and landscape assessment and peer review for consents and district plans.

Australia

Councils and state agencies. IP&R and asset inputs, Transport for NSW and active transport grant submissions, precinct and place-based planning, and design management, including recent work with Randwick City Council in Sydney.

The Pacific

Sustainable urban mobility and inclusive walking strategies for island towns and cities, spatial planning for growth, and resort and tourism work: access, trails, boardwalks, universal design and fitting new buildings and infrastructure into sensitive coastal settings.

[PHOTO OF BEN]
About

Ben Frost

I'm an urban mobility specialist and registered landscape architect with around 19 years' experience across New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific, on both sides of the table.

As a consultant I was Senior Associate, Urban Mobility at Beca, leading strategy, business cases and design management for councils, NZTA and multi-agency alliances. Before that I was Senior Walking & Cycling Specialist at Auckland Transport, and earlier I specialised in landscape planning and assessment, including natural character studies, peer reviews and expert evidence. I also work part time in the Transport Strategy & Planning team at Hamilton City Council, which keeps me close to what councils are working through right now.

My landscape background means I see transport as a system and as a series of streets and public spaces that shape everyday life. I connect high-level objectives with practical, place-based outcomes that decision-makers and communities can understand.

  • Registered Member, NZ Institute of Landscape Architects
  • Member, Engineering NZ Transportation Group
  • Pae Tahi, Ngā Aho
  • Healthy Streets Design Practitioner
  • Bachelor of Landscape Architecture, Unitec
  • NZILA Distinction Award, 2012
Selected mobility experience

Projects I've led and shaped

Delivered during my time at Beca and Auckland Transport.

Project Lead & Design Manager

Todman Ave & Lenthall St

Randwick City Council, Sydney

Strategic framework through to detailed design; endorsed by Councillors for consultation.

Project Director

Kingsford to Centennial Park

Randwick City Council, Sydney

2.8 km separated cycleway, shared path and streetscape upgrade.

Urban Mobility Lead

Cambridge Connections

Waipā District Council

Movement and place framework and strategic transport network review.

Urban Mobility Lead

Hamilton Local Area Plans

Hamilton City Council

Mobility workstream for four area plans supporting growth and intensification.

Technical Lead

Eastern Pathways Programme

Hamilton City Council

46 network links and corridor typologies feeding Long Term Plan investment.

Design Manager

School Link & University to City Centre

Hamilton City Council

Single stage business cases: optioneering, long and short lists, preferred options.

Design Manager

Travel Choices & Hospital to City Centre

Hamilton City Council

Co-design through to detailed design on complex, high-traffic corridors.

Active Mode Lead

Waitematā Connections Alliance

NZTA, Auckland

Network accessibility, optioneering and MCA through the IBC and pricing pack phases.

Design Manager

Streets for People, Cambridge

Waipā District Council

Tactical urbanism co-designed with four schools, giving a 58% increase in children cycling to school.

Contact

Let's talk.

Keen for a coffee if you're in Cambridge, or a call wherever you are. Tell me what you're working on and we'll work out whether I can help.

Ngā mihi, Ben

Emailben@mapstudio.co.nz Phone021 835 215 · +64 21 835 215 LinkedInlinkedin.com/in/ben-frost
Based inCambridge, Waikato, NZ