Butterfield Park
Urban Plaza, one of the city's strongest overall (score 54, rank ~97th percentile). Strongest: edge activation; weakest: connectivity.
Butterfield Park scores 53.7 / 100. Strongest dimensions: enclosure / eyes on park and edge activation. Weakest: amenity diversity (11.9). Border-vacuum risk is low. This score is a transparent reading of Jane Jacobs-style vitality factors, not a definitive judgment.
Area · 0.14 ha
What's here
Weighted across six dimensions · confidence 63%
Scores are not bell-curved. Percentiles and expected scores provide context without changing the underlying model.
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The parks map is loading.Boundary: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Explain this score
Where did the 54 come from? Each weighted contribution against a neutral 50 baseline. Green = pushed up; red = pulled down.
Sum of contributions = the headline score. A negative bar means that dimension dragged the park below the city-wide neutral baseline.
Why this park works
Butterfield Park works because its edge activation score (65) is one of the city's strongest and its enclosure (89) is also top decile (its perimeter is lined with active uses).
What limits this park
Butterfield Park doesn't have a clear weakness. Every measured dimension is at or above the middle of the pack.
Most distinctive characteristic
Most distinctive feature: exceptionally high edge activation (65, top decile).
Jacobs reading
Butterfield Park sits between an urban social park and an ecological retreat: moderately useful for both, exceptionally suited to neither.
Performance in context
- This park is a strong overperformer for its cohort: raw 54 versus an expected 38 for similar parks (pocket Urban Plaza) (gap +16).
Typology classification
Classified as Urban Plaza: 1420 m², paved (0% canopy), 19.9 buildings/100 m
Edge Activation
Within 100 m of the park edge: 26 active uses (restaurant, retail, community, cafe) and 2 dead/hostile uses (parking_lot). Active edges keep "eyes on the park" through the day; parking lots, blank institutional walls, rail and highway frontages drain street life.
Source: OSM POIs (amenity/shop) + Toronto Building Footprints + land use
Connectivity
Connectivity blends paths, intersections, transit, entrances, and edge density. This park has 12 mapped paths/walkways and 6 sidewalk segments within 50 m; 2 street intersections within 100 m; 27 transit stops within a 400 m walk; 0 estimated access points across ~191 m of perimeter. low edge density, significant superblock penalty applied. Source coverage: centreline, pedestrian_network, transit_osm.
Source: Toronto Centreline V2 + Pedestrian Network + OSM transit stops
Amenity Diversity
1 distinct amenity types in the park (bench). Diversity, not raw count, drives the score so a park with many distinct activity types can outrank a larger park that repeats the same use.
Source: Toronto Parks & Recreation Facilities + OSM amenity tags
Natural Comfort
Natural Comfort requires inputs not yet loaded for this park (Treed Area / Ravine / Waterbodies / Street Trees). Score is held at a neutral 50 with low confidence. Read with caution.
Source: Treed Area / Ravine / Waterbodies / Street Trees
Enclosure / Eyes on Park
38 buildings within 25 m of the park edge (27 mid-rise, 7 low-rise, 4 tower); avg edge height 22.0 m (~7 floors); 19.9 buildings per 100 m of 191 m perimeter (strong frontage density); edges lean tall but still framed; 4 towers ≥ 40 m within 25 m of the edge. "Eyes on the park" come strongest from the 27 mid-rise edge buildings.
Source: Toronto 3D Massing (building footprints + heights)
Border Vacuum Risk
Park edges face the city. No significant border vacuum detected.
Source: Toronto Street Centreline (highways) + rail layer + OSM landuse + building footprints
Equity Context
Equity Context requires inputs not yet loaded for this park (Toronto Neighbourhood Profiles). Score is held at a neutral 50 with low confidence. Read with caution.
Source: Toronto Neighbourhood Profiles
Amenities (1 types · 1 records)
- bench
Nearby active-edge features (70)
- retail: Cheers Smoke Shop23 m
- retail: Carolyn McAuley Hair Studio24 m
- restaurant: Wafflian59 m
- cafe: Ka-Nom67 m
- restaurant: Popeyes69 m
- restaurant: Manpuku72 m
- parking lot76 m
- restaurant: Nai Nai77 m
- restaurant: Black Mill Tea80 m
- retail: Jerk King80 m
- cafe: Coffee Exchange83 m
- restaurant: Karine's85 m
- restaurant: La Sani Grill85 m
- restaurant: McDonald's86 m
- restaurant: Eats Manilla87 m
- restaurant: Pho 36988 m
- community: Dorothy H. Hoover Library89 m
- retail: OCAD U Copy & Print Services90 m
- parking lot91 m
- restaurant: Top Bistro91 m
- restaurant: Jaffna Street Food92 m
- restaurant: The Bowl Korean Food92 m
- cafe: Fruiteao93 m
- restaurant: Kezy Döner93 m
- restaurant: Thai Bright96 m
- restaurant: Village by the Grange98 m
- retail: Village Custom Cleaners99 m
- restaurant: Sushi Cafe Bon Gung99 m
- restaurant: Tasty Chinese Food102 m
- retail: Perfect Threading & Beauty Salon103 m
- retail: Grange Green Farms106 m
- retail: Grange Lottery & News107 m
- restaurant: The Fresh Italian Eatery115 m
- parking lot117 m
- restaurant: All Spice Jerk Express121 m
- retail: June Hairdresser On Fire128 m
- restaurant: Yakiniku Legend128 m
- parking lot130 m
- retail: Baro Natural136 m
- retail: The Tec Fixer140 m
- transit stop: Stephanie Street145 m
- retail: Glo Nails Studio146 m
- parking lot151 m
- restaurant: Pizzaiolo151 m
- restaurant: Lili Kitchen152 m
- restaurant: The Katsu & Salmon153 m
- restaurant: Patchmon’s Thai Desserts154 m
- cafe: Tuck Shop Provisions154 m
- cafe: The Library Specialty Coffee157 m
- transit stop: McCaul Street159 m
- restaurant: Gallery Sushi159 m
- transit stop: McCaul Street161 m
- restaurant: Subway165 m
- parking lot166 m
- retail: Hagen Hair & Barber167 m
- restaurant: Village Idiot Pub172 m
- restaurant: DZO172 m
- community: Toronto Chinese Baptist Church Senior Citizen Centre175 m
- cafe: Matcha Matcha175 m
- retail: Cowley Abbott Canada’s Art Auctioneers177 m
- cafe: Evana Cafe & Lounge180 m
- cafe: Mersivity180 m
- retail: Perfect X Hair181 m
- retail: Emo Paints181 m
- parking lot181 m
- retail: Emo Paints183 m
- cafe: Thor Espresso183 m
- retail: Wizard Market188 m
- retail199 m
- restaurant: Ema-Tei Authentic Japanese Food200 m
Park profile
Five-axis radar across the structural dimensions.
Citywide percentile ranks
Across all Toronto parks in the dataset.
- Overall vitality97th
- Edge activation99th
- Connectivity46th
- Amenity diversity63th
- Natural comfort57th
- Enclosure95th
Most similar parks
Closest in metric space across the five structural dimensions.
- Kerr Hall QuadNeighbourhood Park56
- Spadina Quay WetlandsUrban Plaza50
- Breadalbane ParkUrban Plaza52
- Glasgow ParketteUrban Plaza52
- Wellesley - Magill ParkUrban Plaza49
Most opposite parks
Furthest in metric space. Useful for recognising what kind of park this isn’t.
- Sir Casimir Gzowski ParkWaterfront Park34
- Rouge ParkWaterfront Park25
- Toronto Islands - Muggs Island ParkRavine / Naturalized Park25
- Trca Lands ( 26)Ravine / Naturalized Park27
- Rouge ParkRavine / Naturalized Park28
Human activity signals: not available
No activity signals have landed for this park yet. The model has scored its physical form but it can’t yet say how often it’s programmed, photographed, or walked through. See /data-ethics for what we will and will not collect.
Does this score feel accurate?
Your read of Butterfield Parkmatters. We’re testing whether the model lines up with how people actually use the park. Submissions are stored locally; no account needed.
Tell us how this park feels
We measure structure (canopy, edges, connectivity). You measure feeling. Both matter, and disagreement is itself useful civic data.
What would improve this park?
Generated from the weakest measured dimensions: a starting point, not a prescription.
- Add or open more entrances and improve sidewalk continuity around the park. More permeability means more spontaneous use.
- Diversify what people can do in the park (playground, washroom, water, shade, performance, sport, garden): even small additions raise this score.
Data sources
- City of Toronto Open Data: Parks (Green Space)Polygon boundaries, official names, types. Boundaries are reconciled against OpenStreetMap (ODbL) for new and updated parks.
- Parks & Recreation FacilitiesInventory of in-park amenities (washrooms, fields, rinks…).
- Toronto Pedestrian NetworkSidewalk segments around and through parks; estimated park entrances.
- Toronto Centreline V2Street segments + intersection nodes near park edges; trails and walkways.
- Toronto 3D MassingBuilding footprints + heights for edge-building counts, frontage density, and tower-in-the-park risk.
- Toronto Treed AreaTree canopy share inside park polygons via stratified-grid sampling.
- Toronto Waterbodies & RiversWater surface inside parks + nearest-water distance for cooling.
- Ravine & Natural Feature ProtectionRavine overlap as a cooling / natural-comfort signal.
- Toronto Street Tree InventoryTree count + density inside park polygons.
- Neighbourhood Profiles(Pending) Equity context proxy.
- OpenStreetMap (Overpass API)Cafés, restaurants, retail, transit stops, parking, highways, rail.