Shaila Jamal

As an urban researcher with training in geography and planning, I bring multiple research experiences and projects to bear on transportation-related topics in both North America and South Asia. My research experience consists of my work as a postdoctoral fellow, a research coordinator, a graduate student, an independent consultant, and a researcher for a provincial health department in Canada and United Nations in Bangladesh. My research mostly evolves around transportation of different socio-demographic groups with a focus on equity and justice-seeking population. Currently, I am working on projects that explore mobilities in suburban neighborhoods; preferred amenities of different racialized communities and their accessibility; and older immigrants' transit experiences and the role of their social network in facilitating their mobility in Canada.

The research I am involved are mostly funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), University of Toronto and and McMaster Co-Design Hub. I was also able to receive funding from different agencies to conduct independent research projects. The techniques I apply in my research include statistical modeling, machine learning, spatial analysis, thematic analysis of qualitative data, and Evidence-based Co-Design. I have published in well-recognized journals such as Transportation, Transportation Research Part A, Sustainable Cities and Society, Transportation Research Part D, and Case Studies on Transport Policy. Currently, I am guest editing a special issue of Transportation Research Part D on "Evaluating initiatives to combat injustice in transportation" with colleagues from University of Oxford, Technical University of Munich, and Ghent University.

I have taught undergraduate courses on Data Analysis (McMaster), Transportation Geography (McMaster), Cities in the Developing World (McMaster) and GIS and Empirical Reasoning (UofT). I also conducted multiple workshops on data science and machine learning for McMaster University Library and YWCA Hamilton. Since 2021, I am working with non-profits as a volunteer mentor and workshop facilitator to teach data science to the racialized women in GTHA. I have been awarded the 2023 YWCA Hamilton's Women of Distinction Award for my contribution to STEM mentorship and social justice research.

Publications

Here is a list of my latest publications. Check my Google Scholar profile for the full list of publications.

1. Jamal, S., Menon, N., & Newbold, K. B. (2023). Equity implications of COVID-19 on older adults’ mobility: Evidence and examples from South Asia. In V. Van Acker, S. Choo & Mokhtarian, P. L. (Eds.), Advances in Transport Policy and Planning, Volume 12: Part 2: Wider transport and land use impacts of COVID-19. Elsevier. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.atpp.2023.08.001

2. Jamal, S., & Paez, A. (2023). Well-being implications of immobility during COVID-19: evidence from a student sample in Bangladesh using the satisfaction with life scale. Transportation, 1-31. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-023-10395-z

3. Jamal, S., Newbold, K.B. & Scott, D. M. (2023). Developing a typology of daily travelers based on transportation attitudes: application of latent class analysis using a survey of millennials and older adults in Hamilton, Ontario. Growth and Change. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/grow.12678.

4. Jamal, S., Newbold, K. B., & Scott, D. M. (2023). Analysis of millennials and older adults’ automobility behavior in Hamilton, Ontario. Urban, Planning and Transport Research, 11(1), 2197979.

5. Jamal, S., & Newbold, K. B. (2023). The promise of co-design for improving transit service for older immigrants: Development of a co-design framework for Hamilton, Ontario. Urban Governance, 3(1), 83-91.

6. Jamal, S., Chowdhury, S., & Newbold, K. B. (2022). Transport preferences and dilemmas in the post-lockdown (COVID-19) period: Findings from a qualitative study of young commuters in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Case Studies on Transport Policy, 10(1), 406-416.

7. Jamal, S., Newbold, K.B. & Scott, D. M. (2022). A comparison of young and older adults’ attitudes and preferences towards different travel modes and residential characteristics: A study in Hamilton, Ontario. The Canadian Geographer, 66(1), 76-93.