aplusnyc was founded in 2008 by Bettina Johae and Matthias Neumann.

Bettina Johae (Dipl.-Ing. Arch / MA Studio Art) is an artist with an architectural background whose work engages with the changes and perceptions of the city. Many of her projects focus on New York City and have been exhibited nationally and internationally, including at the New York Public Library, the Bronx Museum of the Arts, the International Center of Photography, the Goethe Institute New York, the Aljira Center for Contemporary Art / Newark, the Chelsea Art Museum and the NUS Museum in Singapore. Her project, borough edges, nyc, is in the collection of the New York Public Library and includes an interactive online version that can be viewed here. Currently she work on a project about the use of Eminent Domain in New York City. Bettina received her Diploma in Architecture from the Technical University Berlin and her Master in Studio Art from New York University. Born in Berlin, Germany, she lives in Brooklyn since 2001. Bettina is the is the principle of aplusnyc.

Kaja Kühl (Dipl.-Ing. Arch / AICP) received her Diploma in Architecture from the University in Karlsruhe, Germany and a Master of Science in Urban Planning from Columbia University in New York. Prior to founding youarethecity in 2008, she worked for the New York City Department of City Planning as an Urban Designer and team leader where she was responsible for design guidance and development of public policy for several private rezoning applications and city initiatives. Selected projects include Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' 65th Street Project, Sherman Creek Housing Opportunity Plan, Upper West Side Contextual Rezoning, Columbia University's Expansion Plan in Manhattanville, 125th Street rezoning study and streetscape analysis, Small Sidewalk Cafe Initiative. Kaja is a certified planner and Associate Professor at Columbia University, where she coordinates the summer studio of the Urban Design Program and studios and seminars related to her research on migration and urban spaces.

Elliott Maltby (BA Philosophy / MLA) loves cities and their rich public spaces; she is interested in how art and architecture can contribute to the success of the urban experiment. A founding partner of thread collective, a collaborative design firm and a professor in the Graduate Architecture and Urban Design program at Pratt Institute, she is actively engaged in the dialogue of theory and practice. For 5 years she worked with Mary Miss, one of the most influential artists working in the public realm, as a project manager and landscape architect. Together they recently collaborated on Civic Action: CaLL/ Ravenswood, an innovative arts research district in Queens. She was a collaborator with the Lower Waters team, one of eight finalists in the World Trade Center Memorial competition. Elliott received a masters of landscape architecture from UC Berkeley, and has worked for and with architects, artists, and landscape architects over the years.