St. Clements - Yonge Parkette
Urban Plaza, in the top tier overall (score 48, rank ~90th percentile). Strongest: enclosure; weakest: natural comfort.
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Data updated
St. Clements - Yonge Parkette scores 47.9 / 100. Strongest dimensions: enclosure / eyes on park and connectivity. Weakest: edge activation (37.4). Border-vacuum risk is elevated (60). This score is a transparent reading of Jane Jacobs-style vitality factors, not a definitive judgment.
Area · 0.15 ha
What's here
Getting around
52 m of mapped path. Too little surface tagging to say how much is paved.
Too little path mapped to check for steps.
Not enough mapped seating to assess (4 benches mapped).
Nearest parking 62 m away. None of the 10 nearby lots records whether it has accessible spaces.
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.
Weighted across six dimensions · confidence 70%
Data confidence: moderate
Scores are not bell-curved. Percentiles and expected scores provide context without changing the underlying model.
Loading map…
The parks map is loading.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 48 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
St. Clements - Yonge Parkette works because its enclosure score (87) is in the top tier and its amenity diversity (41) is also top decile (10 mid-rise buildings frame the edge with passive surveillance).
What limits this park
St. Clements - Yonge Parkette's edges are fronted by border-vacuum land uses (highways, rail, parking, blank institutional), risk score 60.
Most distinctive characteristic
Most distinctive feature: exceptionally high enclosure (87, top decile).
Jacobs reading
St. Clements - Yonge Parkette sits between an urban social park and an ecological retreat: moderately useful for both, exceptionally suited to neither.
Performance in context
- A modest overperformer for its urban plaza typology (+10 vs the median in pocket Urban Plaza).
Typology classification
Classified as Urban Plaza: 1459 m², paved (6% canopy), 35.8 buildings/100 m
Edge Activation
Within 100 m of the park edge: 35 active uses (retail, restaurant, transit_stop, cafe) and 6 dead/hostile uses (parking_lot, highway). 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
Connectivity blends paths, intersections, transit, entrances, and edge density. This park has 0 mapped paths/walkways and 17 sidewalk segments within 50 m; 9 street intersections within 100 m; 6 bus stops within a 400 m walk; 0 estimated access points across ~159 m of perimeter. edge density is healthy, no superblock penalty. Source coverage: centreline, pedestrian_network, transit_osm.
Source: Toronto Centreline V2 + Pedestrian Network + OSM transit stops. All data sources.
Amenity Diversity
5 distinct amenity types in the park (bench, fountain, garden, picnic, playground). 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 near the park adds a bonus for the number of works.
Source: Toronto Parks & Recreation Facilities + OSM amenity tags. All data sources.
Natural Comfort
Natural-comfort components for this park: 6.2% estimated tree canopy; nearest waterbody ~715 m; 1 city-mapped trees inside the polygon (1.0/ha). Reading: exposed. Source coverage: treed_area, waterbodies, street_trees. Impervious surface is approximated (Toronto's authoritative layer ships only as a raster GeoTIFF).
Source: Toronto Treed Area + Ravine + Waterbodies + Street Tree Inventory. All data sources.
Enclosure / Eyes on Park
57 buildings within 25 m of the park edge (10 mid-rise, 47 low-rise, 0 tower); avg edge height 8.0 m (~3 floors); 35.8 buildings per 100 m of 159 m perimeter (strong frontage density); edges are low-rise (mostly 2 to 3 floors); no towers immediately adjacent. "Eyes on the park" come strongest from the 10 mid-rise edge buildings.
Source: Toronto 3D Massing (building footprints + heights). All data sources.
Border Vacuum Risk
Border-vacuum factors within 50 m of the park: Yonge Street, Yonge Street. 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: OpenStreetMap: highways, rail, parking. All data sources.
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: Not loaded yet: Toronto Neighbourhood Profiles. All data sources.
Amenities (5 types · 13 records)
- bench
- fountain
- garden
- picnic
- playground
Nearby active-edge features (80)
- restaurant: Sorn Thai Restaurant4 m
- cafe: Himalayan Coffee House6 m
- highway: Yonge Street13 m
- retail: Lululemon14 m
- transit stop: Sherwood Avenue22 m
- retail: Touch Massage Bar28 m
- retail: Blue Diamond Jewellers30 m
- retail: Coco Market30 m
- highway: Yonge Street30 m
- restaurant: Louie’s Classico Pizza30 m
- restaurant: Impact Kitchen31 m
- retail: Walking On A Cloud32 m
- restaurant: Melani - Modern Greek34 m
- retail: The Hut - Smoothie And Juice Bar36 m
- retail: Healthy Planet37 m
- transit stop: Briar Hill Avenue43 m
- retail: Kasali Hair Studio46 m
- restaurant: Sushi Shop47 m
- retail: Formula Fig47 m
- highway: Yonge Street50 m
- retail: Little Party Shoppe52 m
- retail: Pure + Simple53 m
- retail: Money Mart53 m
- retail: The Clinica55 m
- retail: Mon Luxe Nails & Beauty Bar59 m
- retail: Becker's61 m
- retail: Pinto Cash For Gold And Jewellery Buyers61 m
- parking lot62 m
- restaurant: The Bagel House67 m
- retail: Rebe77e71 m
- retail: Open Court77 m
- retail77 m
- retail: Needle & Thread80 m
- retail: Keewatin Fine Orthopaedic Footwear82 m
- parking lot83 m
- retail: Castlefield Hair Studio83 m
- highway: Yonge Street87 m
- retail: Pet Valu87 m
- restaurant: Ariete e Toro88 m
- retail: Sandpipers97 m
- retail98 m
- retail: Ollie Quinn102 m
- retail: Bananas102 m
- parking lot105 m
- parking lot106 m
- parking lot106 m
- restaurant: Sushi Gen Japanese Restaurant107 m
- retail: Clinique De Mode+109 m
- retail: Robbie Brown115 m
- retail: Carload on Yonge116 m
- retail: Cookery118 m
- retail: The Wallpapery119 m
- retail: BC Hair Salon119 m
- retail: Crystal Kiss119 m
- retail: Body Love Ink120 m
- retail: Suetables122 m
- restaurant: Mehfill Indian Cuisine122 m
- retail: The Cupcake Shoppe123 m
- retail: L'Occitane127 m
- restaurant: The Right Wing Sports Pub130 m
- retail: The Hunny Pot Cannabis Co.132 m
- retail: Gina’s Home Linen136 m
- retail: Circle Shoes139 m
- parking lot139 m
- cafe: de Mello Palheta141 m
- cafe: Dang Good Donuts143 m
- retail: Erbil Barber Shop145 m
- cafe: Nutbar148 m
- retail: Vape Studio148 m
- retail: Jerome’s Menswear151 m
- transit stop: Yonge St at Castlefield Ave151 m
- retail: Blacktoe Running Inc.152 m
- retail: I'm A Flower152 m
- transit stop: Castlefield Avenue154 m
- retail: …a kind heart155 m
- retail: See & Be Seen Eyecare156 m
- retail: Goa Hair Salon156 m
- retail: Convenience Cards & More160 m
- retail: PP Beauty & Academy161 m
- cafe: La Bohème Café Patisserie162 m
Park profile
Five-axis radar across the structural dimensions.
Citywide percentile ranks
Across all Toronto parks in the dataset.
- Overall vitality90th
- Edge activation90th
- Connectivity69th
- Amenity diversity92th
- Natural comfort43th
- Enclosure93th
Most similar parks
Closest in metric space across the five structural dimensions.
- Northumberland PlaygroundUrban Plaza50
- Snider ParketteUrban Plaza46
- Monsignor Fraser College ParkUrban Plaza48
- PARKDALE COMMUNITY RECREATION CENTRE - Building GroundsNeighbourhood Park51
- Grafton Avenue ParkUrban Plaza45
Most opposite parks
Furthest in metric space. Useful for recognising what kind of park this isn’t.
- Trca Lands ( 26)Ravine / Naturalized Park27
- Toronto Islands - Muggs Island ParkRavine / Naturalized Park26
- Rouge ParkRavine / Naturalized Park28
- Rouge ParkRavine / Naturalized Park21
- Rouge ParkRavine / Naturalized Park26
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 St. Clements - Yonge Parkette 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.
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.
- 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
- City of Toronto Open Data: Green SpacesPolygon boundaries, official names, land classes. 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.
- OpenStreetMap (Overpass API)Cafés, restaurants, retail, transit stops, parking, highways, rail.