BERM

BERM

BERM is an interdisciplinary urbanism collective based in New York City. We champion open space as an instrument of transformative climate and community resilience.

Urban Planning

Community Engagement

Public Art + Theater

Community Resilience

Technical Assistance

Open Space

Berm :
a landscape
and design
feature that
protects

WHAT WE DO

BERM designs and engages in community-centered planning, research, and engagement projects that are joyful, valuable, and accessible. Championing small-scale interventions as catalysts for larger systemic change, our work is centered around convening participatory activities and planning processes for open spaces.

WHO WE ARE

We are a young urban planning and programming collective established in New York City in 2023. As a group, we bring combined experience working as practitioners, researchers, and community organizers across New York City-based environmental, governmental, and community organizations, with an emphasis on climate resilience, open space, and streetscapes.

Natalie Bartfay

Dmitri Johnson

Jim Lammers

Nikolas Michael

Sabrina Sethi Unni

Rainy Day Play
Public Art
Rainy Day Play
Public Art

JOURNAL

A New Harvest — Urban Omnibus (October 2023)

Playscapes — URBAN Magazine 33 (August 2023)

Utopia is a Vacant Lot in Rockaway — Urban Omnibus (April 2023)

Ecological Restoration as Eco-Art: The Artistic Crusade to Remediate Our Waterbodies — URBAN Magazine 32 (March 2023)

Can a Cypriot Salt Marsh Tell Us the Future of Climate Change? — URBAN Magazine 32 (March 2023)

IN THE WORLD

A public performance series aims to combat “climate despair” — Hyperallergic (April 2024)

Introducing the 2023 class of Forefront Fellows — Urban Design Forum (September 2023)

A fun play about how scary climate change is — The Wave (June 2023) 

Water Woes in the Bronx: The borough has the city’s poorest neighborhoods and the most water problems — RentWire NYC (November 2022)

See all →

GET IN TOUCH WITH US @

hello@berm.nyc​