Joseph Burr Tyrrell Park
Urban Plaza, one of the city's strongest overall (score 53, rank ~96th percentile). Strongest: enclosure; weakest: connectivity.
Aerial, City of Toronto orthophoto, ~8 cm/px source · cached 5/9/2026
Joseph Burr Tyrrell Park scores 52.9 / 100. Strongest dimensions: enclosure / eyes on park and edge activation. Weakest: connectivity (23.4). Border-vacuum risk is low. This score is a transparent reading of Jane Jacobs-style vitality factors, not a definitive judgment.
Area · 0.13 ha
What's here
Weighted across six dimensions · confidence 61%
Scores are not bell-curved. Percentiles and expected scores provide context without changing the underlying model.
Loading map…
The parks map is loading.Boundary: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Explain this score
Where did the 53 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
Joseph Burr Tyrrell Park works because its enclosure score (97) is one of the city's strongest and its edge activation (66) is also top decile (26 mid-rise buildings frame the edge with passive surveillance).
What limits this park
Joseph Burr Tyrrell Park is held back by connectivity (23, bottom quartile).
Most distinctive characteristic
Most distinctive feature: exceptionally high enclosure (97, top decile).
Jacobs reading
Joseph Burr Tyrrell Park sits between an urban social park and an ecological retreat: moderately useful for both, exceptionally suited to neither.
Performance in context
- This park is a strong overperformer for its cohort: raw 53 versus an expected 38 for similar parks (pocket Urban Plaza) (gap +15).
Typology classification
Classified as Urban Plaza: 1284 m², paved (0% canopy), 52.6 buildings/100 m
Edge Activation
Within 100 m of the park edge: 56 active uses (retail, restaurant, cafe, transit_stop, school) and 3 dead/hostile uses (highway, 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: OSM POIs (amenity/shop) + Toronto Building Footprints + land use
Connectivity
Connectivity blends paths, intersections, transit, entrances, and edge density. This park has 0 mapped paths/walkways and 0 sidewalk segments within 50 m; 3 street intersections within 100 m; 26 transit stops within a 400 m walk; 0 estimated access points across ~162 m of perimeter. low edge density, significant superblock penalty applied. Source coverage: centreline, transit_osm.
Source: Toronto Centreline V2 + Pedestrian Network + OSM transit stops
Amenity Diversity
5 distinct amenity types in the park (playground, bench, drinking_water, garden, picnic). 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
Natural-comfort components for this park: ~4.9% effective canopy (0.0% from contiguous tree polygons + scattered tree density); 7 city-mapped trees inside the polygon (7.0/ha). Reading: exposed. Source coverage: 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
Enclosure / Eyes on Park
85 buildings within 25 m of the park edge (26 mid-rise, 57 low-rise, 2 tower); avg edge height 9.1 m (~3 floors); 52.6 buildings per 100 m of 162 m perimeter (strong frontage density); edges are at a Jacobs-scale walkable mid-rise (3 to 7 floors); 2 towers ≥ 40 m within 25 m of the edge. "Eyes on the park" come strongest from the 26 mid-rise edge buildings.
Source: Toronto 3D Massing (building footprints + heights)
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: Toronto Street Centreline (highways) + rail layer + OSM landuse + building footprints
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: Toronto Neighbourhood Profiles
Amenities (5 types · 8 records)
- playground
- bench
- drinking water
- garden
- picnic
Nearby active-edge features (80)
- retail: Thunderstruck Books43 m
- retail: Alex Cuts43 m
- retail43 m
- retail44 m
- restaurant: Fresh Kitchen + Juice Bar45 m
- retail: Esu Massage Therapy45 m
- restaurant: The Chulo45 m
- retail: Casa Lugo46 m
- retail47 m
- retail: Triton47 m
- parking lot49 m
- restaurant: Blanco Cantina50 m
- transit stop53 m
- restaurant: Freshii54 m
- restaurant: Scotty Bons55 m
- restaurant: Belly Buster56 m
- retail: Ollie Quinn58 m
- restaurant: Burger's Priest60 m
- restaurant: Vietnam Lovely Noodle63 m
- restaurant: Fuwa Fuwa Japanese Pancakes63 m
- restaurant: El Furniture Warehouse66 m
- restaurant: St. Louis Bar & Grill68 m
- transit stop69 m
- retail: Runners Shop71 m
- retail: Curbside Cycle72 m
- cafe: Palgong Tea75 m
- restaurant: Pizzaiolo77 m
- restaurant: Kenzo Ramen77 m
- restaurant: Future Bistro79 m
- retail: BMV Cafe79 m
- retail: BMV Books80 m
- restaurant: Myeongdong80 m
- restaurant: Brown Donkatsu80 m
- restaurant: Indian Desire80 m
- retail: COBS Bread81 m
- retail: Piya's Boutique81 m
- retail: Knob Hill Cleaners81 m
- retail: Value Village Boutique81 m
- retail: Sleep Country81 m
- retail: Green Vibe82 m
- retail: Annex Psyhic82 m
- cafe: M Chá Bar83 m
- restaurant: So Famous86 m
- restaurant: Monkey Sushi Restaurant86 m
- cafe: Cong86 m
- school: Spirit of Math86 m
- restaurant: Souvlaki Place88 m
- retail: Juxtapose Cards & Gifts90 m
- restaurant: Sushi Maido91 m
- retail91 m
- restaurant: Burrito Bandidos92 m
- highway: Bloor Street West92 m
- retail: 420 Zone Inc95 m
- restaurant: The lab95 m
- restaurant: Ghazale96 m
- retail: relocation96 m
- retail: Wiener's Home Hardware96 m
- retail: Annex Photo97 m
- highway: Bloor Street West97 m
- parking lot102 m
- cafe: Simit-Chi104 m
- retail: fixt104 m
- restaurant: Wild Wing105 m
- restaurant: Victory Cafe105 m
- transit stop: Walmer Road106 m
- restaurant: Raffaella107 m
- retail: Bulk Barn112 m
- parking lot114 m
- restaurant: The Green Room114 m
- highway: Bloor Street West115 m
- restaurant: Annex Billiard Club117 m
- restaurant: Mezcalero121 m
- parking lot122 m
- retail: Seekers Books122 m
- cafe: Slanted Door127 m
- community130 m
- cafe: Wildhearts Cafe135 m
- restaurant: Crafty Coyote139 m
- highway: Bloor Street West140 m
- restaurant: Nang Saigon141 m
Park profile
Five-axis radar across the structural dimensions.
Citywide percentile ranks
Across all Toronto parks in the dataset.
- Overall vitality96th
- Edge activation99th
- Connectivity18th
- Amenity diversity90th
- Natural comfort28th
- Enclosure99th
Most similar parks
Closest in metric space across the five structural dimensions.
- Ann Tindal ParkUrban Plaza54
- Canada SquareCivic Square48
- Hto Park WestUrban Plaza47
- Ontario SquareCivic Square49
- Kerr Hall QuadNeighbourhood Park56
Most opposite parks
Furthest in metric space. Useful for recognising what kind of park this isn’t.
- Rouge ParkRavine / Naturalized Park28
- Rouge ParkWaterfront Park25
- Rouge ParkWaterfront Park31
- Trca Lands ( 26)Ravine / Naturalized Park27
- Toronto Islands - Muggs Island ParkRavine / Naturalized Park25
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 Joseph Burr Tyrrell Parkmatters. 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.
- 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.
Data sources
- 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 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.
- Neighbourhood Profiles(Pending) Equity context proxy.
- OpenStreetMap (Overpass API)Cafés, restaurants, retail, transit stops, parking, highways, rail.