UDC and Goethe-Institut Washington to offer “Post-Oil City” Exhibition and Workshops

Exhibit will address how cities in the future can function without oil.

Can cities function without oil? What would such cities look like? The negative side effects of fossil fuel use are obvious and costly. Presented by the College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES) of the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) and the Goethe-Institut Washington, the exhibition Post-Oil City: The History of the City’s Future will present solutions for the post-oil city as envisioned by architects, planners, designers and engineers from 10 different countries. The exhibit, presented by IFA (The Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations, Germany), will be hosted on UDC’s Van Ness campus from January 30 – March 1, 2014.

Over the past 50 years, city life has developed a great dependence on oil. Building construction, transportation, heating and cooling systems, solutions to meet water and food demands – high-density urban population centers run on oil. If cities were forced to function without oil, what means would they use to meet the needs of their residents? Post-Oil City: The History of the City’s Future explores this premise.

Embedded in the exhibit will be workshops on topics shaping the post-oil city of the future. Each topic will be discussed by panelists representing federal government agencies, district agencies, the private and non-profit sector, and individual residents. Free workshops will be held on the topics of mobility, energy, functionality, water and food security:

• Jan. 31, 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. – The City of the Future: Mobility and Energy Workshop. The mobility panel will include Harriet Tregoning, Director, DC Office of Planning; Terry Bellamy, Director, District Department of Transportation; Fionnuala Quinn, Alta Planning + Design; and Dwane Jones, UDC CAUSES (moderator). The energy panel will feature Michael P. Kelly, Director, District Department of Housing and Community Development; Georg Maue, First Secretary Energy and Climate, German Embassy; Peter Voit, Transsolar GMBH Stuttgart/New York; and Dale Medearis, Senior Environmental Planner, Northern Virginia Regional Commission (moderator). REGISTER
• Feb. 1, 10:00 am to 1:00 p.m. – Low Energy Building Design Workshop featuring Peter Voit and Pratik Raval, Transsolar GmbH Stuttgart/New York. REGISTER
• Feb. 8, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – The Future of Urban Mobility Workshop featuring Lars Menge, General Manager Product Strategy, Volkswagen of America, Herndon, Va. REGISTER
• Feb. 15, 10:00 a.m. -1:00 p.m. – The City of the Future: Materials and Functionality Workshop featuring Christian Fabian from building materials producer REHAU. REGISTER
• Feb. 21, 10:00 a.m. – Noon – The City of the Future: Water & Food Security Workshop featuring George S. Hawkins, General Manager, DC Water and Sewer Authority (invited). REGISTER

An opening reception on Thurs., Jan. 30, will precede the workshops. The reception, which starts at 5:00 p.m., will feature Ursula Seiler-Albring, president of the German Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations, Karlfried Bergner, Minister, German Embassy and a special introduction by Peter Voit. Register here for the reception.

The Post Oil events follow the successful “Hamburg: Building the City Anew. A Journey into the City of Tomorrow” exhibit and conference, that highlighted how the city Hamburg, Germany, which has many similarities to Washington, D.C., is setting new standards for ecological sustainability and mixed use development, meeting the challenges of the future without abandoning its unique traditions and character.

For more information, contact causes@udc.edu.