Tara Vinodrai

Dr. Tara Vinodrai is trained as an economic geographer and her research program focuses on innovation, economic development, work and labour market dynamics, and technological change in cities. Additionally, She has long-standing interests in the creative/cultural industries, clusters and the geography of innovation. Increasingly, her work interrogates the uneven outcomes, patterns and equity implications associated with changes in urban and regional economies. Her current projects explore the relationships between housing affordability and economic development; manufacturing and the maker economy; and the social and spatial implications of the shift to remote work. She is also part of a national research team looking at ridehailing and the wider challenges of the gig/platform economy. Her approach towards her research uses a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods. Her most recent publications include a widely used, co-edited book, Canadian Cities in Transition (Oxford University Press), which recently received an Award of Planning Excellence Merit from the Canadian Institute of Planners. She has always encouraged and participated in dialogue and engagement with policymakers and practitioners and She is interested in how theory and practice intersect, interact and inform each other. She has provided advice to large cities and smaller communities and all levels of government related to innovation, economic development and regional prosperity. In addition to research, she is the Director of the Master of Urban Innovation program at the Institute for Management and Innovation (UTM).