Sunnybrook Park
Waterfront Park, above average overall (score 40, rank ~71th percentile). Strongest: amenity diversity; weakest: enclosure.
Photo by Yasaman Daghighi, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Data updated
Sunnybrook Park scores 39.9 / 100. Strongest dimensions: connectivity and enclosure / eyes on park. Weakest: edge activation (0). Border-vacuum risk is elevated (100). This score is a transparent reading of Jane Jacobs-style vitality factors, not a definitive judgment.
Area · 201.38 ha
What's here
Getting around
26.8 km of mapped path, 27% paved.
6 flights of steps on the mapped network.
Not enough mapped seating to assess (31 benches mapped).
Parking inside the park. 6 of 76 nearby lots reporting 12 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 72%
Data confidence: moderate
Scores are not bell-curved. Percentiles and expected scores provide context without changing the underlying model.
More photographs of Sunnybrook Park
11 more, from Wikimedia Commons and from people who sent them in. Each is someone else’s work: select one to see who took it and the licence it carries.
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Boundary: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Explain this score
Where did the 40 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
Sunnybrook Park works because its amenity diversity score (51) is one of the city's strongest and its connectivity (76) is also top decile (9 distinct amenity types support different kinds of use).
What limits this park
Sunnybrook Park's edges are fronted by border-vacuum land uses (highways, rail, parking, blank institutional), risk score 100.
Most distinctive characteristic
Most distinctive feature: exceptionally high amenity diversity (51, top decile).
Jacobs reading
Sunnybrook Park sits between an urban social park and an ecological retreat: moderately useful for both, exceptionally suited to neither.
Tradeoffs
- The park is enclosed by buildings (62) but the surrounding streets are quiet (edge activation 0): frame without animation.
- High connectivity coexists with high border-vacuum risk (100): much of that connectivity is to highways, rail, or parking lots, not to neighbourhoods.
Typology classification
Classified as Waterfront Park: 5% water surface inside park. Secondary read: Ravine / Naturalized Park (99% ravine overlap, 9% canopy).
Edge Activation
Within 100 m of the park edge: 29 active uses (transit_stop, restaurant, cafe, retail) and 71 dead/hostile uses (parking_lot, highway, rail). 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 80 mapped paths/walkways and 235 sidewalk segments within 50 m; 44 street intersections within 100 m; 2 streetcar or LRT stops, 38 bus stops within a 400 m walk; 26 estimated access points across ~12,528 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. All data sources.
Amenity Diversity
9 distinct amenity types in the park (dog_area, fitness, picnic, sports_field, washroom, bbq, …). 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: 9.2% estimated tree canopy; 98.5% inside the ravine system; 5.4% water surface; 465 city-mapped trees inside the polygon (2.3/ha). Reading: ravine-cooled. Source coverage: treed_area, ravine, 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
361 buildings within 25 m of the park edge (60 mid-rise, 300 low-rise, 1 tower); avg edge height 7.6 m (~3 floors); 2.9 buildings per 100 m of 12,528 m perimeter (moderate frontage density); edges are low-rise (mostly 2 to 3 floors); 1 tower ≥ 40 m within 25 m of the edge. "Eyes on the park" come strongest from the 60 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, parking_lot, parking_lot, parking_lot, parking_lot, parking_lot, parking_lot, parking_lot, parking_lot, parking_lot, parking_lot, parking_lot, parking_lot, parking_lot, parking_lot, parking_lot, parking_lot, parking_lot, parking_lot, parking_lot, parking_lot, parking_lot, Eglinton Avenue East, Eglinton Avenue East, Eglinton Avenue East, parking_lot, Eglinton Avenue East, Eglinton Avenue East, Line 5 Eglinton, Line 5 Eglinton, Line 5 Eglinton, Line 5 Eglinton, Eglinton Avenue East, Eglinton Avenue East, Eglinton Avenue East, Eglinton Avenue East, Eglinton Avenue East, Eglinton Avenue East, Eglinton Avenue East, parking_lot, Parking Lot #4, Parking Lot #3, parking_lot, parking_lot, parking_lot, Line 5 Eglinton, Line 5 Eglinton, parking_lot, parking_lot, 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 (9 types · 84 records)
- dog area
- fitness
- picnic
- sports field
- washroom
- bbq
- bench
- drinking water
- other sport
Nearby active-edge features (80)
- parking lot0 m
- parking lot0 m
- parking lot0 m
- parking lot0 m
- parking lot0 m
- parking lot0 m
- parking lot0 m
- transit stop: Opposite 1155 Leslie Street0 m
- parking lot0 m
- parking lot: Parking Lot #40 m
- parking lot: Parking Lot #30 m
- parking lot0 m
- transit stop: Opposite 1103 Leslie Street0 m
- parking lot3 m
- highway: Eglinton Avenue East7 m
- transit stop: Leslie Street7 m
- highway: Eglinton Avenue East7 m
- highway: Eglinton Avenue East9 m
- parking lot9 m
- highway: Eglinton Avenue East10 m
- parking lot11 m
- rail: Line 5 Eglinton12 m
- parking lot14 m
- parking lot15 m
- rail: Line 5 Eglinton16 m
- parking lot16 m
- parking lot17 m
- highway: Eglinton Avenue East17 m
- highway: Eglinton Avenue East22 m
- transit stop: 1103 Leslie Street22 m
- highway: Eglinton Avenue East22 m
- transit stop: Eglinton Avenue East22 m
- transit stop: 1121 Leslie Street23 m
- parking lot23 m
- parking lot24 m
- parking lot24 m
- highway: Eglinton Avenue East24 m
- highway: Eglinton Avenue East24 m
- transit stop: 1125 Leslie Street26 m
- highway: Eglinton Avenue East27 m
- transit stop: 1165 Leslie Street27 m
- rail: Line 5 Eglinton29 m
- rail: Line 5 Eglinton32 m
- highway: Eglinton Avenue East33 m
- parking lot35 m
- transit stop: Blythwood Road37 m
- parking lot37 m
- rail: Line 5 Eglinton38 m
- parking lot38 m
- parking lot39 m
- rail: Line 5 Eglinton39 m
- parking lot41 m
- parking lot42 m
- transit stop: Saintfield Avenue44 m
- parking lot45 m
- parking lot46 m
- transit stop: Leslie Street46 m
- transit stop: Royal Oak Drive46 m
- transit stop47 m
- highway: Eglinton Avenue East48 m
- parking lot49 m
- parking lot49 m
- parking lot49 m
- parking lot51 m
- parking lot: Garage 351 m
- parking lot55 m
- highway: Eglinton Avenue East55 m
- parking lot55 m
- parking lot56 m
- transit stop58 m
- highway: Eglinton Avenue East59 m
- transit stop: Royal Oak Drive59 m
- transit stop60 m
- transit stop: Bayview Rd at Blythwood Road61 m
- transit stop: Sunnybrook Park63 m
- parking lot65 m
- transit stop: Saintfield Ave66 m
- parking lot66 m
- parking lot: G Lot / Parc G68 m
- restaurant: Pizza Pizza70 m
Park profile
Five-axis radar across the structural dimensions.
Citywide percentile ranks
Across all Toronto parks in the dataset.
- Overall vitality71th
- Edge activation54th
- Connectivity97th
- Amenity diversity97th
- Natural comfort72th
- Enclosure49th
Most similar parks
Closest in metric space across the five structural dimensions.
- Cedarbrook ParkWaterfront Park39
- Etienne Brule ParkRavine / Naturalized Park45
- Scarlett Mills ParkRavine / Naturalized Park39
- Goldhawk ParkCorridor / Linear Park41
- Taylor Creek ParkRavine / Naturalized Park41
Most opposite parks
Furthest in metric space. Useful for recognising what kind of park this isn’t.
- Arnell PlazaCivic Square50
- ALEX WILSON COMMUNITY GARDEN - Open Green SpaceUrban Plaza59
- Trca Lands ( 26)Ravine / Naturalized Park27
- Toronto Islands - Muggs Island ParkRavine / Naturalized Park26
- Toronto Metropolitan University SquareCivic Square60
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 Sunnybrook 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.
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.
- 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.