Climate Change and the Cities of the Future

ECF Annual Conference 2008
Alcalá de Henares, April 1-2, 2008

Art, technology and economics, acting in synergy, have a decisive role in stopping the accelerating climate change. Cities are the main source of greenhouse gases emissions: The production of electricity is finally directed to the cities; buildings must be heated and cooled, people and goods need daily transport to and from the cities. Today, the design of cities still follows a thousand years old concept that maybe is no longer necessary or useful.

The original purpose of cities was to enclose people behind walls, protect them and separate them from the external environment. During the XIX century the growth in goods and services production in a centralized system, favored the increase in size of cities and with it the need of transport and the demand for energy. Today, energy consumption is changing our climate in such an accelerated way that we must either stop it or accept the collapse of our civilization. One of the tools to drastically reduce the expenditure of energy is to redesign cities following the network concept.

The Conference is by invitation only; however, if you are interested in joining, please contact Dr Antonio Ruiz de Elvira.

Additional Information:

• Agenda [PDF, 0,1 MB]
• Flyer [PDF, 0,1 MB]

Presentations: