Jonathan Berk

Jonathan is a placemaker, urbanist, and housing advocate dedicated to building walkable communities with vibrant public spaces, abundant housing choices, and thriving local businesses.

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He is the Founder of re:MAIN, where he helps communities turn housing plans into homes by, updating local rules, identifying key infill development sites, and attracting the builders and investors who can bring those projects to life. reMAIN’s mission is to clear the path from policy to groundbreaking so cities and towns can achieve their housing goals, especially when walkable, infill development faces persistent roadblocks.

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Previously, Jonathan spent seven years as Vice President at Patronicity, a Detroit-based civic crowdfunding firm, where he led state government programs supporting placemaking initiatives in hundreds of communities and helped raise millions of dollars for local projects. He also founded Bench Consulting, Patronicity’s advisory arm, guiding cities through placemaking and tactical urbanism strategies that kept communities connected and economies resilient during the Covid pandemic. In this role, he launched Winter Places, an international challenge that reimagined how main streets could thrive in colder months by activating outdoor public spaces year-round.

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Jonathan also serves as Chair of the Board of Directors at Abundant Housing Massachusetts, a nonprofit championing housing production across the Commonwealth. He is a member of the Planning Board for the City of Salem, the advisory board of Leading Cities and numerous real estate focused startups.

An experienced speaker, Jonathan has presented across North America and Europe on urbanism, placemaking, and housing policy.

He holds a JD from New England Law | Boston and a BA in Communications from Quinnipiac University.