The Housing Element is the section of Los Angeles’s General Plan that identifies the City’s housing needs and sets goals to inform future decisions about housing. Every eight years, the City updates the Housing Element to reflect changes in population and capacity. Last year, City Planning initiated the update to the Housing Element that will shape Los Angeles’s policies from 2021 through 2029.
In view of the housing crisis facing Los Angeles and most other large cities in the United States, getting the Housing Element right is more important than ever. Creating and protecting affordable housing have been top priorities for City Planning under Director Vince Bertoni’s leadership. The Department kicked off the update process with a broad outreach effort, assembling a Task Force of housing experts, community advocates, and nonprofit organizations to provide guidance and mobilizing communications resources to involve Angelenos from all walks of life in the process.
City Planning’s in-house Graphics team played a crucial role in getting the word out about the update, explaining the importance of the Housing Element to the public, and encouraging residents to participate. Through story maps, boards, original social media content, and email communications, the Graphics team helped City Planning drive interest and turnout by clarifying the challenges facing Los Angeles and the impact policy can have on everyday life.
Below is a glimpse of some of the work that was produced.
42 English and Spanish Boards for in-person workshops pre-COVID-19. Post COVID-19, the prepared Graphics were repurposed for the Housing Team's presentation which was used on the GoToWebinar platform.
Social media graphics were prepared for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
E-Blasts were sent out to interested parties using Constant Contact.
Invitation flyers were prepared to be printed and distributed pre-COVID-19 and repurposed to be used on our website and e-blasts.
Using ArcGIS StoryMap, the Housing Team was able to tell their story and use the platform as a virtual workshop, enabling them to continue engagement despite social distancing.
