Why We Do the Work

Cities Reimagined’s founder, Alex Johnston, began her career as a social worker in Central Virginia working with teenage mothers living below the poverty line.

After seeing firsthand how difficult it was for her clients to navigate the process of applying for food stamps, she began asking her local government leaders who was working on making these processes less complicated. The first city employee she asked said, “No one - that’s not something we do”, while the next said, “If they want it bad enough they will figure it out”. The last answer she got was, “Someone should really fix that”.

Two weeks later, Alex quit her job as a social worker and started Cities Reimagined with the idea of placing the end user at the center of the design process. She believed that the person applying for food stamps should be the one designing the application.  

We believe that great design builds trust and gives all people access to the care they deserve.

Our Approach

Cities Reimagined’s work is guided by five principles:

A dark teal background with colorful abstract shapes and motivational text: "We enter every space with empathy, curiosity, and humility." "We take personal responsibility to be the change we wish to see in the world." "We believe progress happens at the speed of trust." "We seek out mentorship and community to strengthen our practice." "We make a conscious choice to be optimistic and hopeful."

Meet the Team

We are a passionate team of urbanists, innovators, and human-centered designers.

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A woman with shoulder-length brown hair, glasses, and hoop earrings, wearing a black top, standing outdoors with greenery and sunlight in the background.

  • Founder + CEO

    Alex Johnston is the founder and CEO of Cities Reimagined, a human-centered design firm that uses a combination of data and the lived experience of residents to help civic leaders diagnose and solve urban problems. Her background in business gives her a knack for developing solutions with a triple bottom line: systems that benefit people, planet, and profit. Alex’s work is focused on addressing systemic challenges in mid-size cities that prevent economic growth, social mobility, and human connection.

    Since founding Cities Reimagined in 2013, Alex has worked with corporate philanthropy, local government, and global NGOs to design citizen-centered systems that build trust and facilitate connection between people living in urban cities. Alex’s work in Detroit was awarded the HUD Secretary’s Award for Public-Philanthropic Partnerships.

    Alex holds a Masters in Cities with Honors from the London School of Economics, an MBA, and a certificate in Creative Cities from NYU. She is also a graduate of the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership at the University of Virginia. Alex is also a Senior Fellow for the Institute of Social Innovation at Babson College where she collaborates with social entrepreneurs to address social, economic, and environmental challenges in cities.

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  • Finance Director

    Courtney has worked with Cities Reimagined since 2020, and previously served as a senior accountant in the insurance industry where she performed the accounting over a $75B investment portfolio. She is a graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University where majored in accounting and graduated Cum Laude.

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  • Project Manager

    Meg comes to Cities Reimagined after more than ten years in Institutional and Brand Marketing and is thrilled to be joining the team in Detroit. She is a storyteller, performer, and problem-solver with a passion for people (and her rescue dog Fran). Meg leads project implementation for the Cities team.

A woman with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a green sweater, gold hoop earrings, and a delicate gold necklace, smiling outdoors with a blurred landscape of fields and hills in the background.

  • Chief of Staff

    Mari joins Cities Reimagined with more than 10 years of experience in administrative support and project management in the banking industry. A master multitasker and lover of details, she plays a central role in strategizing, coordinating, and ensuring the seamless execution of projects and initiatives across the organization.

If our approach resonates with you, we’d love to work with you.

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