Parkettecluster ·Underperforming / Leftover Spaces (enclosure-leaning)Bay Street Corridor (76)confidence moderate

Spirit Garden

Parkette, middle of the pack overall (score 31, rank ~36th percentile). Strongest: edge activation; weakest: natural comfort.

Spirit Garden scores 31.1 / 100. Strongest dimensions: enclosure / eyes on park and edge activation. Weakest: connectivity (20.7). Border-vacuum risk is elevated (36). This score is a transparent reading of Jane Jacobs-style vitality factors, not a definitive judgment.

Best fora quiet siteveryday neighbourhood use

Area · 0.14 ha

What's here

Recreation

Garden

Facilities

Public art

Vitality Score

31/100

Weighted across six dimensions · confidence 61%

Data Confidence

31.1 / 100

Citywide

35th

of all 3,788 parks

Among Parkette

39th

same primary typology

Expected for similar parks

median in pocket Parkette (n=296)

Performance gap

raw − expected · context confidence high

typical

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

Loading map…

Street context. Park polygon highlighted on the citywide map.

Boundary: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Explain this score

Where did the 31 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 Activation26 · p86

-6.0

Connectivity21 · p16

-5.9

Amenity Diversity21 · p77

-5.8

Natural Comfort22 · p1

-4.2

Enclosure / Eyes on Park66 · p62

+1.6

Border Vacuum Risk36 (risk)

+1.4

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

Spirit Garden works because its edge activation score (26) is in the top tier and its amenity diversity (21) is also top quartile.

What limits this park

Spirit Garden is held back by natural comfort (22, bottom quartile): only 0% canopy means little summer shade; border-vacuum risk is also elevated (36).

Most distinctive characteristic

Most distinctive feature: exceptionally low natural comfort (22, bottom quartile).

Jacobs reading

Spirit Garden is currently underperforming on both axes: neither integrated into the city nor offering deep natural respite. A candidate for design intervention.

Typology classification

confidence 70%

Parkette

Classified as Parkette: small (1421 m²) with strong building frontage (4.0 per 100 m)

Edge Activation

25% weightpartial 60%

26.0 / 100

Within 100 m of the park edge: 6 active uses (restaurant, community, retail) and 3 dead/hostile uses (parking_lot, rail). 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

20% weightpartial 65%

20.7 / 100

Connectivity blends paths, intersections, transit, entrances, and edge density. This park has 0 mapped paths/walkways and 0 sidewalk segments within 50 m; 1 street intersections within 100 m; 42 transit stops within a 400 m walk; 0 estimated access points across ~152 m of perimeter. low edge density, significant superblock penalty applied. Source coverage: centreline, transit_osm.

Streets within 25 m0

Intersections within 100 m1

Paths/walkways (50 m)0

Sidewalk segments (50 m)0

Transit stops (400 m)42

Estimated entrances0

Edge connections / 100 m perimeter0.00

Park perimeter152 m

Source: Toronto Centreline V2 + Pedestrian Network + OSM transit stops

Amenity Diversity

20% weightmeasured 75%

21.0 / 100

2 distinct amenity types in the park (art, garden). 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

15% weightinferred 24%

22.3 / 100

Natural-comfort components for this park: 0.0% estimated tree canopy; nearest waterbody ~1393 m. Reading: exposed. Source coverage: waterbodies. Impervious surface is approximated (Toronto's authoritative layer ships only as a raster GeoTIFF).

Canopy coverage0.0%

Canopy area0.00 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)0.0

Sample points used16

Source: Toronto Treed Area + Ravine + Waterbodies + Street Tree Inventory

Enclosure / Eyes on Park

10% weightmeasured 80%

65.5 / 100

6 buildings within 25 m of the park edge (2 mid-rise, 3 low-rise, 1 tower); avg edge height 28.5 m (~10 floors); 4.0 buildings per 100 m of 152 m perimeter (strong frontage density); edges lean tall but still framed; 1 tower ≥ 40 m within 25 m of the edge. "Eyes on the park" come strongest from the 2 mid-rise edge buildings.

Buildings within 25 m6

Buildings within 50 m6

Avg edge height28.5 m (~10 floors)

Tallest edge building122.0 m

Mid-rise (3 to 7 floors)2

Low-rise (< 3 floors)3

Towers (≥ 13 floors)1

Frontage density3.96 per 100 m perimeter

Mid-rise share of edge33%

Tower share of edge17%

Blank-edge share (proxy)0%

Park perimeter152 m

Source: Toronto 3D Massing (building footprints + heights)

Border Vacuum Risk

10% weightpartial 60%

36.0 risk

Border-vacuum factors within 50 m of the park: Line 1 Yonge-University, Line 1 Yonge-University. Jacobs warned that highways, rail, parking lots and blank institutional edges act as "vacuums" that suppress foot traffic and isolate the park from its neighbourhood.

Source: Toronto Street Centreline (highways) + rail layer + OSM landuse + building footprints

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: Toronto Neighbourhood Profiles

Amenities (2 types · 4 records)

art
garden

Nearby active-edge features (45)

rail: Line 1 Yonge-University21 m
rail: Line 1 Yonge-University25 m
restaurant: Hero Certified Burgers29 m
retail31 m
restaurant: Hero Certified Burgers32 m
parking lot68 m
community: Great Library71 m
restaurant: Chip trucks89 m
restaurant: Shopsy's98 m
retail: Christian Science Reading Room108 m
retail: Silka112 m
retail: Batteries & Gadgets120 m
restaurant: Mr. Souvlaki123 m
cafe: M Square Coffee Co.125 m
restaurant: Noodle King125 m
community: Toronto Public Library - City Hall126 m
restaurant: Quesada126 m
restaurant: Hero Certified Burgers137 m
restaurant: Teppanyaki Grill142 m
retail143 m
retail: Harry's Fine Jewellery144 m
transit stop: Albert Street149 m
transit stop: York Street154 m
cafe: la prep(closed)156 m
restaurant: Quinn's158 m
transit stop: Albert Street165 m
transit stop: Queen Street West166 m
transit stop: Queen Street West167 m
restaurant: Shopsy's168 m
transit stop: University Avenue168 m
restaurant: Bagel & Co.168 m
transit stop: Four Seasons Entrance170 m
cafe: Tim Hortons171 m
retail: True North Mortgage172 m
highway: University Avenue173 m
restaurant: Estiatorio Volos178 m
retail: Canar Gifts182 m
retail: Hakim Optical182 m
restaurant: Rosalinda185 m
retail: DavidsTea186 m
restaurant: Little Anthony's186 m
restaurant: Shanghai 360188 m
restaurant: Indian Briyani House194 m
transit stop: Osgoode195 m
cafe: Tim Hortons199 m

Park profile

Five-axis radar across the structural dimensions.

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
36th
Edge activation
86th
Connectivity
16th
Amenity diversity
77th
Natural comfort
1th
Enclosure
62th

Most similar parks

Closest in metric space across the five structural dimensions.

88 Corporate Dr gardenCivic Square32
Ward's Island TennisWaterfront Park30
Warden ParkNeighbourhood Park30
Commander ParkNeighbourhood Park29
Toronto Peace GardenUrban Plaza33

Most opposite parks

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

High ParkWaterfront Park51
Kew GardensNeighbourhood Park75
Nordheimer RavineRavine / Naturalized Park62
Trinity Bellwoods ParkNeighbourhood Park66
Christie Pits ParkRavine / Naturalized Park48

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 Spirit Gardenmatters. 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.

Activate the edges: encourage cafés, retail or community uses on the streets that face the park; replace blank or parking-lot edges where possible.
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.
Increase canopy and reduce paved area. Shade and water features extend usable hours and seasons.
Mitigate border vacuums (highways, rail, parking) with active programming on the still-permeable edges and treat the hostile edge as a design challenge.

Data sources

real Toronto data

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 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.
Neighbourhood Profiles
(Pending) Equity context proxy.
OpenStreetMap (Overpass API)
Cafés, restaurants, retail, transit stops, parking, highways, rail.