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ParketteType:Walkable Mid-Rise Neighbourhood Park (enclosure-leaning)West Queen West

Shaw Park

Parkette, one of the city's strongest overall (score 70, rank ~100th percentile). Strongest: edge activation; weakest: natural comfort.

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Data updated

Shaw Park scores 69.8 / 100. Strongest dimensions: enclosure / eyes on park and edge activation. Weakest: amenity diversity (36.7). Border-vacuum risk is low. This score is a transparent reading of Jane Jacobs-style vitality factors, not a definitive judgment.

Best fora quiet siteveryday neighbourhood use

Area · 0.67 ha

What's here

Recreation
Garden
Facilities
ShelterBenchesPublic art

Getting around

Paths

367 m of mapped path. Too little surface tagging to say how much is paved.

No steps mapped on the path network.

Seating

Typically 11 m to the nearest bench, and 21 m at the far end.

Arrival

Nearest parking 105 m away. 1 of 5 nearby lots reporting 1 accessible space.

Path, seating and parking data comes from OpenStreetMap and reflects what volunteers have mapped, not a survey. Absence here means nobody has recorded it. This section does not assess wheelchair access: the relevant OpenStreetMap tag is present on well under 1% of Toronto paths.

Vitality Score
70/100

Weighted across six dimensions · confidence 72%

Data Confidence
69.8 / 100

Data confidence: moderate

Citywide
100th
of all 3,753 parks
Among Parkette
100th
same primary typology
Expected for similar parks
37
median in small Parkette (n=222)
Performance gap
+33
raw − expected · context confidence high
strong overperformer

Scores are not bell-curved. Percentiles and expected scores provide context without changing the underlying model.

Loading map…

The parks map is loading.
Street context. Park polygon highlighted on the citywide map.

Boundary: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Public art in this park

Near the park

Numbers match the pins on the map. Works near the park are within 30 m of its edge.

Explain this score

Where did the 70 come from? Each weighted contribution against a neutral 50 baseline. Green = pushed up; red = pulled down.

Download JSON
What pushed this score up or down vs a neutral 50weight × score
Edge Activation85 · p100
+8.9
Border Vacuum Risk0 (risk)
+5.0
Enclosure / Eyes on Park93 · p98
+4.3
Amenity Diversity37 · p89
-2.7
Connectivity62 · p80
+2.4
Natural Comfort63 · p79
+1.9

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

Shaw Park works because its edge activation score (85) is one of the city's strongest and its enclosure (93) is also top decile (its perimeter is lined with active uses).

What limits this park

Shaw 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 (85, top decile).

Jacobs reading

Shaw Park is a balanced hybrid: strong urban integration (80) and meaningful natural comfort (74). Rare in the Toronto Park Catalogue.

Performance in context

  • This park is a strong overperformer for its cohort: raw 70 versus an expected 37 for similar parks (small Parkette) (gap +33).

Typology classification

confidence 70%
Parkette

Classified as Parkette: small (6712 m²) with strong building frontage (21.6 per 100 m)

Edge Activation

25% weightpartial 60%
85.4 / 100

Within 100 m of the park edge: 35 active uses (retail, restaurant, cafe, transit_stop) and 0 dead/hostile uses (none). Active edges keep "eyes on the park" through the day; parking lots, blank institutional walls, rail and highway frontages drain street life.

Source: OpenStreetMap: cafes, restaurants, shops, schools, community centres, transit, parking, highways, rail. All data sources.

Connectivity

20% weightmeasured 85%
62.1 / 100

Connectivity blends paths, intersections, transit, entrances, and edge density. This park has 0 mapped paths/walkways and 21 sidewalk segments within 50 m; 10 street intersections within 100 m; 8 streetcar or LRT stops, 5 bus stops within a 400 m walk; 0 estimated access points across ~324 m of perimeter. edge density is healthy, no superblock penalty. Source coverage: centreline, pedestrian_network, transit_osm.

Streets within 25 m10
Intersections within 100 m10
Paths/walkways (50 m)0
Sidewalk segments (50 m)21
Transit stops (400 m)13 (0 subway/GO, 8 streetcar/LRT, 5 bus)
Estimated entrances0
Edge connections / 100 m perimeter3.08
Park perimeter324 m

Source: Toronto Centreline V2 + Pedestrian Network + OSM transit stops. All data sources.

Amenity Diversity

20% weightmeasured 75%
36.7 / 100

4 distinct amenity types in the park (art, bench, garden, shelter). Diversity drives the score, so a park with many distinct activity types can outrank a larger park that repeats the same use. 1 public artwork in the park and 1 nearby add a bonus for the number of works.

Source: Toronto Parks & Recreation Facilities + OSM amenity tags. All data sources.

Natural Comfort

15% weightmeasured 75%
62.8 / 100

Natural-comfort components for this park: 27.7% estimated tree canopy; nearest waterbody ~1393 m. Reading: partially shaded. Source coverage: treed_area, waterbodies. Impervious surface is approximated (Toronto's authoritative layer ships only as a raster GeoTIFF).

Canopy coverage27.7%
Canopy area0.19 ha
Inside ravine system0.0%
Water surface inside park0.0%
Nearest water (if outside park)1,393 m
Estimated green100.0%
City-mapped trees inside polygon0
Tree density0.0 / ha
Cover diversity (Shannon, 0 to 100)85.1
Sample points used47

Source: Toronto Treed Area + Ravine + Waterbodies + Street Tree Inventory. All data sources.

Enclosure / Eyes on Park

10% weightmeasured 80%
92.6 / 100

70 buildings within 25 m of the park edge (18 mid-rise, 52 low-rise, 0 tower); avg edge height 9.5 m (~3 floors); 21.6 buildings per 100 m of 324 m perimeter (strong frontage density); edges are at a Jacobs-scale walkable mid-rise (3 to 7 floors); no towers immediately adjacent. "Eyes on the park" come strongest from the 18 mid-rise edge buildings.

Buildings within 25 m70
Buildings within 50 m70
Avg edge height9.5 m (~3 floors)
Tallest edge building39.5 m
Mid-rise (3 to 7 floors)18
Low-rise (< 3 floors)52
Towers (≥ 13 floors)0
Frontage density21.59 per 100 m perimeter
Mid-rise share of edge26%
Tower share of edge0%
Blank-edge share (proxy)0%
Park perimeter324 m

Source: Toronto 3D Massing (building footprints + heights). All data sources.

Border Vacuum Risk

10% weightpartial 60%
0.0 risk

Park edges face the city. No significant border vacuum detected.

Source: OpenStreetMap: highways, rail, parking. All data sources.

Equity Context

contextinferred 15%
50.0 / 100

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: Not loaded yet: Toronto Neighbourhood Profiles. All data sources.

Amenities (4 types · 12 records)

  • art
  • bench
  • garden
  • shelter

Nearby active-edge features (80)

  • transit stop: Shaw Street3 m
  • transit stop: Shaw Street11 m
  • transit stop: Queen Street West19 m
  • retail: Mofer Coffee20 m
  • retail: Sekai Nail and Beauty Bar25 m
  • retail: Foreign Rider Co25 m
  • retail: Hanji Gifts25 m
  • retail: Rainbow Collective25 m
  • retail: Sharpen26 m
  • restaurant: Ceniza26 m
  • retail26 m
  • retail27 m
  • restaurant: Prime Seafood Palace27 m
  • retail33 m
  • transit stop: Shaw Street35 m
  • restaurant: Chadon Beni37 m
  • retail: BYOB Cocktail Emporium37 m
  • retail: Ron's Cigar Store39 m
  • retail: Hong Phat41 m
  • restaurant: AMA44 m
  • retail: Show Gallery45 m
  • retail: Philistine48 m
  • retail: Paul Petro49 m
  • restaurant: Jules Bistro53 m
  • retail: The Citizen Room53 m
  • restaurant: Carmen58 m
  • cafe: Mercat del Carmen62 m
  • retail: 18 Waits73 m
  • retail: Blacksmith Cycle77 m
  • restaurant: Lipstick & Dynamite79 m
  • retail: KNIFE82 m
  • restaurant: Frankie's Diner84 m
  • restaurant: Montgomery's90 m
  • transit stop: Ossington Avenue92 m
  • restaurant: Jal Jood96 m
  • parking lot105 m
  • parking lot105 m
  • retail: Size?110 m
  • retail: Hobbiesville116 m
  • restaurant: Sweaty Betty's120 m
  • cafe: Jimmy's Coffee122 m
  • restaurant: Grill Dudes128 m
  • transit stop: Queen Street West132 m
  • restaurant: Le Swan133 m
  • retail: Convenience Canada136 m
  • transit stop: Adelaide Street West137 m
  • retail: Trinity Flower Cannabis138 m
  • retail: Parlour140 m
  • transit stop: Ossington Avenue141 m
  • retail: Fawn141 m
  • retail: Vape Palace142 m
  • retail: Tusk143 m
  • transit stop: Ossington Avenue144 m
  • retail: Mirror Mirror144 m
  • retail: Gaspard146 m
  • transit stop: Adelaide Street West149 m
  • retail: Consign Toronto151 m
  • retail: Atomic153 m
  • retail: Stuart Jackson Gallery155 m
  • retail: Gravitypope155 m
  • retail: Aesop160 m
  • retail: Reigning Champ161 m
  • retail: Locks & Mane163 m
  • retail: Downtown Winery165 m
  • cafe: Tim Hortons167 m
  • parking lot167 m
  • parking lot169 m
  • retail: Le Labo169 m
  • retail: Ollie Quinn172 m
  • retail: Ratelier172 m
  • restaurant: Mother173 m
  • retail: Wine Rack173 m
  • retail: Ossington Self Storage176 m
  • retail: Carhartt WIP177 m
  • restaurant: Oyster Boy177 m
  • retail: Planet of Sound178 m
  • retail: AREA+001181 m
  • retail: Suzi Roher182 m
  • retail: Six Vapes183 m
  • retail: Cooney for Hair184 m

Park profile

Five-axis radar across the structural dimensions.

Edge ActivationConnectivityAmenity DiversityNatural ComfortEnclosureShaw Park
Edge activation, connectivity, amenity diversity, natural comfort, and enclosure, each 0 to 100.

Citywide percentile ranks

Across all Toronto parks in the dataset.

  • Overall vitality
    100th
  • Edge activation
    100th
  • Connectivity
    80th
  • Amenity diversity
    89th
  • Natural comfort
    79th
  • Enclosure
    98th

Most similar parks

Closest in metric space across the five structural dimensions.

Most opposite parks

Furthest in metric space. Useful for recognising what kind of park this isn’t.

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 Shaw Park matters. 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.

Rate this park on as many dimensions as you have an opinion about. 1 = not at all, 5 = strongly. Skip the ones you don't feel sure about. Aggregated only, no comments stored at the row level.

feels socially active
feels comfortable
feels safe
feels connected
feels welcoming
feels ecological / natural
feels good for lingering
feels family-friendly
feels culturally important
70%

What would improve this park?

Generated from the weakest measured dimensions: a starting point, not a prescription.

  • Diversify what people can do in the park (playground, washroom, water, shade, performance, sport, garden): even small additions raise this score.

Data sources

real Toronto data
  • City of Toronto Open Data: Green Spaces
    Polygon boundaries, official names, land classes. Boundaries are reconciled against OpenStreetMap (ODbL) for new and updated parks.
  • Parks & Recreation Facilities
    Inventory of in-park amenities (washrooms, fields, rinks…).
  • Toronto Pedestrian Network
    Sidewalk segments around and through parks; estimated park entrances.
  • Toronto Centreline V2
    Street segments + intersection nodes near park edges; trails and walkways.
  • Toronto 3D Massing
    Building footprints + heights for edge-building counts, frontage density, and tower-in-the-park risk.
  • Toronto Treed Area
    Tree canopy share inside park polygons via stratified-grid sampling.
  • Toronto Waterbodies & Rivers
    Water surface inside parks + nearest-water distance for cooling.
  • Ravine & Natural Feature Protection
    Ravine overlap as a cooling / natural-comfort signal.
  • Toronto Street Tree Inventory
    Tree count + density inside park polygons.
  • OpenStreetMap (Overpass API)
    Cafés, restaurants, retail, transit stops, parking, highways, rail.