WELLESLEY COMMUNITY CENTRE - Building Grounds
Parkette, in the top tier overall (score 47, rank ~90th percentile). Strongest: edge activation; weakest: natural comfort.
Photo by Harry Xiao via Google Places · cached 5/9/2026
Data updated
WELLESLEY COMMUNITY CENTRE - Building Grounds scores 47.3 / 100. Strongest dimensions: enclosure / eyes on park and connectivity. Weakest: amenity diversity (27.3). Border-vacuum risk is low. This score is a transparent reading of Jane Jacobs-style vitality factors, not a definitive judgment.
Area · 0.71 ha
What's here
Getting around
10 m of mapped path. Too little surface tagging to say how much is paved.
Too little path mapped to check for steps.
No seating mapped in OpenStreetMap.
Nearest parking 37 m away. 1 of 14 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.
Weighted across six dimensions · confidence 68%
Data confidence: moderate
Scores are not bell-curved. Percentiles and expected scores provide context without changing the underlying model.
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Grounds of a City building, not a designated park. It is left out of park rankings.
Explain this score
Where did the 47 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
WELLESLEY COMMUNITY CENTRE - Building Grounds works because its edge activation score (29) is in the top tier and its amenity diversity (27) is also top quartile.
What limits this park
WELLESLEY COMMUNITY CENTRE - Building Grounds 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 (29, top quartile).
Jacobs reading
WELLESLEY COMMUNITY CENTRE - Building Grounds sits between an urban social park and an ecological retreat: moderately useful for both, exceptionally suited to neither.
Tradeoffs
- 21 nearby towers cast wind and shadow without contributing canopy: passive surveillance is plentiful but human-scale comfort is not.
Performance in context
- A modest overperformer for its parkette typology (+10 vs the median in small Parkette).
Typology classification
Classified as Parkette: small (7113 m²) with strong building frontage (20.5 per 100 m)
Edge Activation
Within 100 m of the park edge: 20 active uses (transit_stop, community, retail, restaurant) and 6 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: 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 21 sidewalk segments within 50 m; 5 street intersections within 100 m; 11 bus stops within a 400 m walk; 0 estimated access points across ~356 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
3 distinct amenity types in the park (community_centre, library, washroom). Diversity 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. All data sources.
Natural Comfort
Natural-comfort components for this park: ~13.3% effective canopy (0.0% from contiguous tree polygons + scattered tree density); nearest waterbody ~1103 m; 19 city-mapped trees inside the polygon (19.0/ha). Reading: exposed. Source coverage: 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
73 buildings within 25 m of the park edge (37 mid-rise, 15 low-rise, 21 tower); avg edge height 34.8 m (~12 floors); 20.5 buildings per 100 m of 356 m perimeter (strong frontage density); edges lean tall but still framed; 21 towers ≥ 40 m within 25 m of the edge. "Eyes on the park" come strongest from the 37 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: parking_lot. 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 (3 types · 5 records)
- community centre
- library
- washroom
Nearby active-edge features (58)
- community: Toronto Public Library - St. James Town0 m
- transit stop: Sherbourne Street0 m
- community: Wellesley Community Centre0 m
- transit stop11 m
- retail: Art City17 m
- transit stop: Wellesley Street East17 m
- retail: Sherbourne Variety & Gift28 m
- transit stop: Wellesley Street East31 m
- restaurant: Freshslice Pizza36 m
- parking lot37 m
- restaurant: Domino's Pizza38 m
- transit stop: Sherbourne Street40 m
- community: St. James Town Community Corner46 m
- restaurant: Mr. Jerk51 m
- parking lot58 m
- retail: Becker's58 m
- retail: Lemay Beauty Salon & Spa71 m
- restaurant: Sarvi Indian Cuisine76 m
- parking lot78 m
- retail: Rosar Morrison Funeral Home & Chapel80 m
- parking lot81 m
- retail: Sweet Addictions82 m
- retail: Smart Access83 m
- parking lot90 m
- transit stop: Earl Street93 m
- parking lot94 m
- parking lot102 m
- parking lot117 m
- retail: Sunny Green Vegetable And Fruit Limited120 m
- retail: FreshCo122 m
- parking lot124 m
- transit stop: Ontario Street128 m
- parking lot131 m
- cafe: Red Rocket Coffee132 m
- retail: Platis Cleaners140 m
- parking lot147 m
- retail: Rabba147 m
- transit stop: Ontario Street151 m
- restaurant: Subway158 m
- retail: Supreme Computers and Repair158 m
- retail: Price Depot Canada158 m
- retail: St. James Town Gift & Variety159 m
- retail: Food Basics162 m
- retail: First Choice Hair Cutters164 m
- parking lot168 m
- retail: HappyPets Pantry169 m
- retail: Wine Rack180 m
- parking lot183 m
- retail: chatr Mobile183 m
- restaurant: Tropical Joe's189 m
- retail190 m
- restaurant: Gabby's190 m
- retail: Philippine Variety Store194 m
- retail: T & B Hair Salon194 m
- retail: Harla Spice Market194 m
- parking lot196 m
- cafe: Tim Hortons198 m
- transit stop: Isabella Street199 m
Park profile
Five-axis radar across the structural dimensions.
Citywide percentile ranks
Across all Toronto parks in the dataset.
- Overall vitality90th
- Edge activation86th
- Connectivity71th
- Amenity diversity79th
- Natural comfort48th
- Enclosure78th
Most similar parks
Closest in metric space across the five structural dimensions.
- Primrose Avenue ParketteUrban Plaza46
- Edgewood ParkNeighbourhood Park48
- Geary Avenue ParketteParkette39
- Gulliver ParkNeighbourhood Park49
- Downsview Memorial ParketteCivic Square45
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 Park26
- Rouge ParkRavine / Naturalized Park21
Visitor signals
Public attention measured by Google Places aggregates. This proxies attention, not occupancy. Aggregate-only: no usernames, no review text, no extra photos beyond the cached hero.
p86 citywide · p94 within Parkette
Source: Google Places API · match medium (0.76 composite confidence) · last refreshed 5/9/2026. Privacy contract. Measures public attention, not occupancy.
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 WELLESLEY COMMUNITY CENTRE - Building Grounds 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.
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.