Book excerpt: SOCIAL FORECASTING, FUTUROLOGY. AUSTRALIAN. Perth, a city of 1.5 million relatively complacent people, is changing at a phenomenal rate. Latest predictions are that the city will grow from 1.5 million people to 4.2 million by 2056. To meet this increase the entire city and its infrastructure needs to double in the next 4 decades. This will have huge consequences for the culture and ecology of the city: Perths long term survival is at stake. The book is designed to help the community visualize the results of planning decisions and get everyone involved in the debate about how the city should grow. This is an important and timely book for Perth, but it also presents a model piece of research that could be emulated in any city experiencing rapid change.