About

Shauna Brail is a Professor at the Institute for Management & Innovation and holds a cross-appointment at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto. An economic geographer and urban planner, her work examines the transformation of cities in response to economic, social, technological and cultural change. 

Her research explores major forces shaping 21^st-century cities, including the impacts of crises and disruption; the relationship between cities and digital platform economies, particularly in the area of mobility; and evolving approaches to urban governance, policy and planning in the context of innovation and technological change. She advises governments and civil society organizations in Canada and internationally on urban economic transformation, housing and transportation policy innovation, and the governance of digital platform technologies. Brail is a frequent media contributor. 

Brail is an affiliated faculty at the Innovation Policy Lab in the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. She is associate editor of Cities: Smarter Futures and serves on the editorial boards of Applied Geography, Canadian Geographies and Progress in Economic 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).