Does [City] Size Matter? A geographical analysis of privately sponsored Syrian newcomers' settlement, social inclusion and economic integration in the Greater Toronto Area and Guelph

This paper geographically comparison two different sized cities, the Greater Toronto Area (large) and Guelph (small), to examine the initial settlement experiences of Syrian PSRs. The cities are analyzed to see how geography and city size of settlement impacts integration, juxtaposing social networks and access to meaningful employment, in order to analyze how both variables mutually impact one another throughout settlement. The research provided evidence that city size does matter, as the smaller centre of Guelph was able to provide enhanced social networks with the host community, more affordable housing and better access to employment compared to the GTA. However, city size is not the most important variable for successful integration, as the ability of each sponsorship group was found to be foremost for positive settlement experiences. PSR access to meaningful employment, rather than remedial employment, was found to be unaffected by the size of the city of settlement.