Los Angeles Countywide Sustainability Plan
Buro Happold & LA County
Design and development of a WordPress community engagement website and forum for key stakeholders
- Advisory
- Design
- WordPress development
A WordPress website built to support a county-wide sustainability plan, providing residents with downloadable resources and accessible tools to engage with local environmental initiatives.
For the LA County project, we worked alongside Buro Happold Engineering to develop a digital platform for the Chief Sustainability Office, transforming LA County’s ambitious sustainability plan into an engaging and accessible resource for over 10 million residents. The project aimed to support the county’s goals for environmental responsibility, social equity, and economic growth, all while making the content easy for residents to understand and use.
From the outset, we focused on creating a user-friendly experience that connected the county’s vision with practical, accessible information. We began with workshops and engagement sessions, collaborating with both Buro Happold and LA County stakeholders.
This allowed us to define clear objectives and align the platform’s design with the plan’s goals. Our approach balanced the needs for clarity and depth, translating complex information into interactive, intuitive elements. A primary goal was ensuring that people of all backgrounds could engage with the site and access sustainability resources that applied to their everyday lives.
We developed the platform on a custom-built WordPress site, designed with adaptability and scalability in mind. The site included a comprehensive content directory, which let users navigate resources effortlessly. The visual identity we crafted reflected the county’s sustainability mission, using a modern, approachable design that invited users to explore and learn. By prioritising UX and accessibility, we ensured the site met WCAG compliance, making it inclusive for users of all abilities.
To support ongoing engagement, we also incorporated real-time optimisation. This allowed us to refine the website’s design and functionality as more residents engaged with it, based on data and user feedback. It was important that the site could evolve with the county’s changing needs, accommodating updates and new content without requiring a complete redesign. By using agile sprints, we ensured that updates were timely and kept the project on track with the set timeline, from initial launch to ongoing updates.
Public engagement was at the heart of this project. The platform offered a blend of information and interactivity, encouraging residents to take an active role in sustainability. It served as a hub where users could find local events, learn about county-wide initiatives, and explore ways to reduce their environmental impact.
Our work for LA County shows the depth of our expertise in developing scalable, user-focused digital solutions that align with complex public sector goals. With a robust framework for content management and a flexible design, the platform is built to adapt, keeping it relevant for years to come. This project demonstrates our ability to create meaningful, accessible digital tools that drive community engagement and support long-term, positive change.
