Shauna Brail is Director and Associate Professor, Institute for Management & Innovation, University of Toronto Mississauga. As an economic geographer and urban planner, her research focuses on the transformation of cities as a result of economic, social, and cultural change.
Brail’s research encompasses studies of broad urban economic changes and challenges associated with 21st century cities – including the impacts of COVID-19 on cities; the relationship between cities and the digital platform economy, with a particular emphasis on ride-hailing; and shifts in urban governance, policy and planning in connection to innovation and technological change. She is the Co-Principal Investigator of a five-year insight grant funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada – Taking Canada for a Ride: Digital Ride-Hailing and Its Impact on Canadian Cities.
Brail is an Affiliated Faculty at the Innovation Policy Lab in the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and Associate Director, UTM at the University of Toronto’s Mobility Network. She has previously held the following roles at the university: Director, Urban Studies Program; Associate Director, Partnerships & Outreach, School of Cities; Interim Director, Master of Urban Innovation; and Presidential Advisor on Urban Engagement.
Brail advises governments and civic society organizations, both in Canada and internationally, on matters relating to urban economic change, housing and transportation policy innovation, and the regulation of digital platform technologies. She is an editorial board member at Applied Geography, Progress in Economic Geography and Urban Geography.
Prior to joining the University, she worked in management consulting and in the Ontario provincial government. She holds a BA in Urban Studies/Geography (UofT), an MA in Urban Planning (UBC), and a PhD in Geography (UofT).
Shauna Brail 