MARIANA ATKINS I am PhD candidate in the Department of Geography in the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from University College London and a Master’s degree in Socio-Economic Planning from the London School of Economics and Political Science. My thesis deals with population growth and population ageing and how this is being played out across space and time. In particular I am interested in how cities accommodate people’s changing needs and expectations as they age in relation to housing and service provision. And as the ageing demographic is set to grow in the near future how prepared are cities to deal with this? I am using Perth as a case study of a low-density, medium-sized, post-industrial city. I have work experience in a number of areas including planning, teaching, the not-for-profit sector and arts management. Having lived in many countries around the world I bring a strong international perspective to my work.