Curriculum Vitae

2023 May – Director, Institute for Management & Innovation
2018 – June 2020 Associate Director, School of Cities, Partnerships & Outreach
2016 – June 2020 Director, Urban Studies Program
2019 – June 2019 Director, Master of Urban Innovation, University of Toronto Mississauga
2015 – June 2018 Presidential Advisor on Urban Engagement

Professional Affiliations and Activities

Non-Budgetary Cross-Appointments
Associate Professor Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

Academic History

Research Grants

2023-2024 Co-Investigator, UCL and UofT Strategic Challenges Fund, Critical Dialogues of the Post-Covid City: Urban challenges and sustainable transformations in London and Toronto, with Susannah Bunce and Nicola Livingstone (PIs) and Susan Moore, Michael Short, Alan Walks (Co-Investigators), $90,415.

2021-2026 Co-PI, University of Toronto-Hebrew University of Jerusalem Research & Training Alliance, Models of Urban Evolution, Co-PI with Dan Silver, Mark Fox, Yair Grinberger, Diego Rotman, Emily Silverman, $557,000.

2021 Co-PI, Institutional Strategic Initiatives, Innovative Mobility Lab Network, Co-PI – Steven Farber, PI – Eric Miller, $1,659,000 + $1,695,000 (matching funds).

2020 Co-Principal Applicant, Lupina Foundation, The Role of University Research in Urban Innovation, Co-PI – Shiri Breznitz, $24,000.

2019-2024 Co-Principal Investigator, Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Insight Grant, Taking Canada for a Ride: Digital Ride-Hailing and its Impact on Canadian Cities, Co-PI with Betsy Donald, $358,501.

2014-2019 Co-applicant, Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Major Collaborative Research Initiative on Creating Digital Opportunity, PI – David Wolfe, $2,500,000.

2014-2015 Co-applicant, Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Neighbourhood Change Research Partnership, PI – David Hulchanski, $2,500,000.

2006-2011 Domestic Collaborator, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Major Collaborative Research Initiative, Innovation Systems Research Network, Social Dynamics of Economic Performance: Innovation and Creativity in City-Regions, Co – PIs David Wolfe and Meric Gertler, $2,500,000.

Scholarly and Professional Work

Journal Articles

Brail, S. 2022. COVID-19 and the Future of Urban Policy and Planning. Current History, 121 (838), 298-303. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/curh.2022.121.838.298.

Brail, S. and Kleinman, M. 2022. Impacts and Implications for the Post-Covid City: The Case of Toronto. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 1-19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/cjres/rsac022

Tabascio, A. and Brail, S. 2022. Governance matters: Regulating ride hailing platforms in Canada’s largest city-regions. The Canadian Geographer, 66(2), 278-292. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/cag.12705.

Brail, S. 2022. World cities of ride-hailing, Urban Geography, DOI: 10.1080/02723638.2020.1775030.

Li, Y., Sungur, E., Jimenez, A, and Brail, S. 2022. Covid-19, urban economic resilience and the pandemic pivot: Toronto’s restaurant scene. Regional Studies, Regional Science, 9:1, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/21681376.2021.2013732.

Brail, S. 2021. Patterns Amidst the Turmoil: COVID-19 & Cities. Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science, DOI: /10.1177/23998083211009638.

Brail, S. 2018. From Renegade to Regulated: The Digital Platform Economy, Ride-hailing and the Case of Toronto. Canadian Journal of Urban Research. 27(2): 51-64.

Brail, S. 2017. Promoting Innovation Locally: Municipal Regulation as Barrier or Boost. Geography Compass, 11:12, 1-12.

Brail, S. and Kumar, N.  2017. Community leadership and engagement after the mix: The transformation of Toronto’s Regent Park. Urban Studies, 54:16, 3772-3788.

Brail, S. 2016. Quantifying the value of service learning: comparison of grade achievement between service learning and non-service learning students. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 28:2,148-157.

Levkoe, C., Brail, S. and Daniere, A. 2014. Engaged pedagogy and transformative learning in graduate education: a service learning case study. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 44:3, 68-85.

Leslie, D., Brail, S. and Hunt, M. 2014. Crafting an antidote to Fast Fashion: The Case of Toronto’s Independent Fashion Design Sector. Growth and Change, 45:1, 222-239.

Brail, S. 2013. Experiencing the city: Urban studies students and service learning. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 37:2, 241-256.

Allahwalla A., Bunce, S., Beagrie, L., Brail, S., Hawthorne, T., Levesque, S., von Mahs, J., and Spotton Visano, B. 2013. Building and sustaining community-university partnerships in marginalized urban areas. Journal of Geography, 112:2, 43-57.

Leslie, D. and Brail. S. 2011. The productive role of ‘quality of place’: a case study of fashion designers in Toronto. Environment and Planning A, Vol 43, pp. 2900-2917.

Book Chapters

Dodman, D., Hayward, B., Pelling, M. (Coordinating Lead Authors), Castan Broto, V., Chow, W., Chu, E., Dawson, R., Khirfan, L., McPhearson, T., Prakash, A., Zheng, Y., Ziervogel, (Lead Authors), Archer, D., Bertolin, C.,  Brail, S. …Westman, L. (Contributing Authors). International Panel on Climate Change Working Group II, Sixth Assessment Report, Chapter 6: Cities, Settlements and Key Infrastructure, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, February 2022.

Brail, S. 2021. Ride-hailing and Canadian Cities in The Platform Economy and the Smart City: Technology and the Transformation of Urban Policy, edited by Zwick, A. and Z. Spicer. McGill Queen’s University Press.

Brail, S., Martin, M., Munasinghe, J., Ratnayake, R. and Rudner, J. 2021. Transnational Experiences of COVID-19: Transferrable Lessons for Urban Planning between the Global South and the Global NorthinGlobal Reflections on COVID-19 Urban Inequalities, edited by Doucet, B., Filion, P. and R. van Mellik. Polity Press, 145-159.

Brail, S. 2020. Unicorns, Platforms and Global Cities: The Economic Geography of Ride-hailing in Urban platforms and the future city: Transformations in infrastructure, governance, knowledge, and everyday life, edited by Hodson, M., Kasmire, J., McKeekin, A., Stehlin, J., and Ward, K. Routledge, 53-69.

Brail, S. and Vinodrai, T. 2020. The Elusive, Inclusive City: Toronto at a Crossroads in Critical Dialogues of Urban Governance, Development and Activism: London & Toronto, edited by Bunce, S., Livingstone, N., March, L., Moore, S, and Walks, A. UCL Press.  

Brail, S. and Donald, B. 2020. Digital Cities: contemporary issues in urban policy and planning in Canadian Cities in Transition, sixth edition, edited by Moos, M., Vinodrai, T. and Walker, R. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 70-86.

Brail, S. and Whalen, K. 2019. Examining the potential of experiential learning pedagogy for senior undergraduate students in Handbook of Teaching and Learning in Geography, edited by Walkington, H., Hill, J. and Dyer, S. Edward Elgar Publishing, 342-356.

Brail, S., E. Mizrokhi and S. Ralston. 2017. Examining the transformation of Regent Park, Toronto: Prioritizing hard and soft infrastructure in Urban Transformations: Geographies of Renewal and Creative Change, edited by Wise, N. and Clark, J., Routledge, 177-194.

Leslie, D., Brydges, T. and Brail. S. 2015. Qualifying aesthetic values in the experience economy: the role of independent fashion boutiques in curating slow fashion in Spatial Dynamics in the Experience Economy, edited by Lorentzen, A., Schroder, L, and K.T. Larsen. New York: Routledge, 88-102.

Leslie, D., Hunt, M. and Brail, S. 2014. Attracting and retaining artistic talent in Toronto: Cosmopolitanism, cultural diversity and inclusion in Seeking Talent for Creative Cities: The Social Dynamics of Innovation, edited by Grant, J. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 59-76.

Mills, L. and Brail, S. 2002. Toronto’s New Media Cluster in the New Millennium in Knowledge, Clusters and Regional Innovation: Economic Development in Canada, edited by Wolfe, D. and Holbrook, JA. Kingston: McGill Queen’s University Press, 135-159.

Brail, S. and Gertler, M. 1999. The Digital Regional Economy: Emergence and Evolution of Toronto’s Multimedia Cluster in Multimedia and Regional Economic Restructuring, edited by Braczyk, Fuchs and Wolf. London: Routledge Press, 97-130

Op Eds, Reports & Other

Brail, S. Advancing prosperity and economic opportunities through a twin transition. The Hill Times, February 20, 2023.

Brail, S. 2022. Visualizing the Impact of COVID-19 on Toronto. Spacing.

Brail, S. 2022. Short Term Rental Platforms and Impacts on Housing, Rental Markets, and Affordability in Advancing the Right to Housing in Toronto: Critical perspectives on the GTA’s housing crisis and how to solve it. Affordable Housing Challenge Project, University of Toronto, 46-51.

Brail, S., Conteh, C., and Hackman-Carty, L. The Municipal Role in Economic Development. Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance. May 3, 2022.

Higgins, C., Farber, S., Shalaby, A., Nurul, K., Miller, E., Brail, S., Widener, M., Diamond, S., Zhang, B. 2021. An Integrated Approach to Transit System Evolution. University of Toronto Transportation Research Institute.

Brail, S. and Donald, B. 2021. Robotic Cargo Transport: New Technologies, Novel Practices & Policy Readiness in Canada. Transport Canada, June 24.

Brail, S. 2021. How the coronavirus pandemic is changing Toronto life and business – for better or worse. The Conversation, May 3.

Brail, S. 2021. The Innovation Imperative: Why Canada needs to harness the power of the platform economy. Financial Post, March 31.

Brail, S., Heblich, S., McGahan, A. 2021. The Innovation Imperative: How the pandemic has changed the urban environment where innovation thrives. Financial Post, March 10.

Brail, S. 2021. COVID-19 driving change in Canada’s urban centres, The Hill Times, February 17.

Brail, S. 2021. Toronto, World Book Student, World Book.

Brail, S., The Delphi Group, Thomas, R.. 2020. City-Building, Intensification and COVID-19. Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

Brail, S. 2020. Climate Crisis, Equitable Engagement, Inclusive Cities: Rethinking Urban Mobility. Bang the Table.

Brail, S., Des Rosiers, N., McGahan, A. 2020, June 29.  For the arts, the show must go on after COVID-19. Policy Options.

Brail, S. 2020. Coronavirus and Engaging Cities: Towards Community Recovery. Bang the Table.

Brail, S., Hadfield, G. and Stein, J. 2020. Governance Innovation Final Report. Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.

Brail, S. 2020, June 23. An opportunity to reimagine the role for platform economy firms. Policy Options.

Donald, B. and Brail, S. 2020, April 21. From Gin to Gel, Why Canada’s Manufacturing Capacity Matters. Policy Options.

Brail, S. 2020, April 2. Cities Lead the Charge on the Coronavirus Frontlines. The Conversation.

Lobo, J., Alberti, M., Allen-Dumas, M., Arcaute, E., Barthelemy, M., Bojorquez Tapia, L., Brail, S., Bettencourt, L., Beukes, A., Chen, W., Florida, R., Gonzalez, M., Grimm, N., Hamilton, M., Kempes, C., Kontokosta, C., Mellander, C., Neal, Z., Ortman, S., Pfeiffer, D., Price, M., Revi, A., Rozenblat, C., Rybski, D., Siemiatycki, M., Shutters, S., Smith, M., Stokes, E., Strumsky, D., West, G., White, D., Wu, J., Yang, V., York, A., Youn, H. 2020. Urban Science: Integrated Theory from the First Cities to Sustainable Metropolises. Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation Research Paper.

Brail, S. 2019, November 24. Cities Need to Innovate to Improve Transportation and Reduce Emissions. The Conversation.

Brail, S. 2019. Municipal Regulation, Disruption and Public Good. In Some Thoughts… edited by Ahmed, N., Claudel, M., Ebrahim, Z., Pandolfi, C., and Wylie, B.

Brail, S. and Donald, B. 2018, September 11. Canada Left Behind as Ride-Hailing Services Go Global. The Conversation.

Brail, S. 2018, July 3. How Partnerships Can Help Cities Cope with Technological Disruption. Policy Options.

Brail, S. and Jean-Baptiste, A. 2018, June 25. What TCHC Needs to Do Next with Regent Park. Spacing.

Brail, S. 2018. Community Engagement with the Changing City. Bang the Table.

Brail, S. 2017, August 7. Smart Cities and Lessons from India. IRPP / Policy Options.

Brail, S. 2015. Student Study Guide, Canadian Cities in Transition – 5th Edition. Oxford University Press: Toronto.

Brail, S. and Daniere, A. 2013, August 4. The upside of internships. The Toronto Star.

Invited Lectures