Algal Economies
Tom Down

Description:
The urban villages are a repositary for the agriculture and cottage industry of China’s past. As the cities have grown and their economies developed these villages have been swept alongside but never been fully part of this exponential economic expansion. The application of the urban prototype ‘Algal Economies’ hopes to provide a solution to this. By redesignating the urban villages as concentrated hubs of a biofuel infrastructure based on the cultivation of algae it attempts to harmonise the relationship between the villages and the land around them. Where once these sites organised the agriculture that supported China’s original growth, they will now cultivate a new agriculture that develops a fully sustainable energy model in China’s cities - at the same time creating oppurtunities, better living standards and economic viability for those that dwell within them.

Branding:
Without adequate planning and support an algal economy will falter at the first steps. If its activators are made aware of its eventual results the outcome of symbiosis between city and village can be acheived far more readily.

Earth:
The spread of an algal economy relies on what is essentially an agricultural process. The commericial value of this enterprise leads to the construction of new vilages with better living standards for all .

Flow:
Like many other forms of economy, the algal economy urban prototype can only be predicted at initiation. It relies entirely on the whims of those who choose to employ its conditions and goals.

Incorporation:
Though individuals working together, and forming communities for cultivation and construction larger community is formed. This is the harmonious community of city and village in a symbiotic relationship.