Exhibition is centrepiece of the Zhangyan Harvests Festival in Shanghai ( 3-23 November). Theme: From oil age to soil age: What comes next after urbanization? Located in a beautiful high-tech agricultural dome, Urban-Rural features a dazzling array of real-world projects .“We’re in a transition from the oil age to the soil age” says Thackara, “and the projects in Urban-Rural are leading the way”. Urban-Rural features apps that enable urban people become part-time farmers; streaming platforms that connect farmers directly to the city; and an algae lab that produces 3d cups out of bioplastics. Zhangyan Harvests is the brainchild of professor Lou Yongqi, head of design and innovation at China’s prestigious Tongji University. “We’ve been innovating new links between city and rural for ten years now” Yongqi explains., ”but Zhangyang Harvests takes this work up to a new level”.