Urban Plazacluster ·Walkable Mid-Rise Neighbourhood Parks (large-scale)Lansing-Westgate (38)confidence moderate

Albert Standing Park

Urban Plaza, above average overall (score 40, rank ~71th percentile). Strongest: connectivity; weakest: edge activation.

Aerial, City of Toronto orthophoto, ~8 cm/px source · cached 5/9/2026

Albert Standing Park scores 39.6 / 100. Strongest dimensions: connectivity and enclosure / eyes on park. Weakest: edge activation (0). Border-vacuum risk is elevated (66). This score is a transparent reading of Jane Jacobs-style vitality factors, not a definitive judgment.

Best fordaily passing-throughpocket meetings

Area · 0.52 ha

What's here

Recreation

Garden

Facilities

Picnic areaBenches

Vitality Score

40/100

Weighted across six dimensions · confidence 68%

Data Confidence

39.6 / 100

Citywide

71st

of all 3,788 parks

Among Urban Plaza

54th

same primary typology

Expected for similar parks

median in small Urban Plaza (n=115)

Performance gap

-2

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 40 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 Activation0 · p22

-12.5

Connectivity78 · p98

+5.6

Amenity Diversity28 · p80

-4.3

Enclosure / Eyes on Park77 · p80

+2.7

Border Vacuum Risk66 (risk)

-1.6

Natural Comfort48 · p54

-0.3

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

Albert Standing Park works because its connectivity score (78) is one of the city's strongest and its amenity diversity (28) is also top quartile (31 transit stops sit within a 400 m walk).

What limits this park

Albert Standing Park is held back by edge activation (0, bottom quartile): the surrounding streets carry too few active uses to spill into the park; border-vacuum risk is also elevated (66).

Most distinctive characteristic

Most distinctive feature: exceptionally high connectivity (78, top decile).

Jacobs reading

Albert Standing Park sits between an urban social park and an ecological retreat: moderately useful for both, exceptionally suited to neither.

Tradeoffs

Connectivity (78) significantly outpaces natural comfort (48): well placed in the city but offers little shade or ecological respite.
The park is enclosed by buildings (77) but the surrounding streets are quiet (edge activation 0): frame without animation.
12 nearby towers cast wind and shadow without contributing canopy: passive surveillance is plentiful but human-scale comfort is not.
High connectivity coexists with high border-vacuum risk (66): much of that connectivity is to highways, rail, or parking lots, not to neighbourhoods.

Typology classification

confidence 70%

Urban Plaza

Classified as Urban Plaza: 5160 m², paved (0% canopy), 18.2 buildings/100 m

Edge Activation

25% weightpartial 60%

0.0 / 100

Within 100 m of the park edge: 9 active uses (retail, transit_stop, cafe) and 9 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% weightmeasured 85%

78.1 / 100

Connectivity blends paths, intersections, transit, entrances, and edge density. This park has 18 mapped paths/walkways and 27 sidewalk segments within 50 m; 8 street intersections within 100 m; 31 transit stops within a 400 m walk; 11 estimated access points across ~291 m of perimeter. edge density is healthy, no superblock penalty. Source coverage: centreline, pedestrian_network, transit_osm.

Streets within 25 m11

Intersections within 100 m8

Paths/walkways (50 m)18

Sidewalk segments (50 m)27

Transit stops (400 m)31

Estimated entrances11

Edge connections / 100 m perimeter3.78

Park perimeter291 m

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

Amenity Diversity

20% weightmeasured 75%

28.4 / 100

3 distinct amenity types in the park (picnic, bench, 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% weightpartial 45%

48.3 / 100

Natural-comfort components for this park: ~15.4% effective canopy (0.0% from contiguous tree polygons + scattered tree density); nearest waterbody ~890 m; 22 city-mapped trees inside the polygon (22.0/ha). Reading: exposed. Source coverage: waterbodies, street_trees. 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)890 m

Estimated green100.0%

City-mapped trees inside polygon22

Tree density22.0 / ha

Cover diversity (Shannon, 0 to 100)0.0

Sample points used37

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

Enclosure / Eyes on Park

10% weightmeasured 80%

76.7 / 100

53 buildings within 25 m of the park edge (7 mid-rise, 34 low-rise, 12 tower); avg edge height 27.0 m (~9 floors); 18.2 buildings per 100 m of 291 m perimeter (strong frontage density); edges lean tall but still framed; 12 towers ≥ 40 m within 25 m of the edge. "Eyes on the park" come strongest from the 7 mid-rise edge buildings.

Buildings within 25 m53

Buildings within 50 m53

Avg edge height27.0 m (~9 floors)

Tallest edge building111.3 m

Mid-rise (3 to 7 floors)7

Low-rise (< 3 floors)34

Towers (≥ 13 floors)12

Frontage density18.22 per 100 m perimeter

Mid-rise share of edge13%

Tower share of edge23%

Blank-edge share (proxy)0%

Park perimeter291 m

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

Border Vacuum Risk

10% weightpartial 60%

66.0 risk

Border-vacuum factors within 50 m of the park: parking_lot, Line 4 Sheppard tail track, Line 4 Sheppard access track, Line 4 Sheppard tail track. 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 (3 types · 29 records)

picnic
bench
garden

Nearby active-edge features (74)

parking lot5 m
rail: Line 4 Sheppard access track16 m
transit stop: Sheppard Ave W at Beecroft Rd23 m
rail: Line 4 Sheppard tail track39 m
rail: Line 4 Sheppard tail track43 m
retail: TrendyMED54 m
parking lot56 m
transit stop: Beecroft Entrance58 m
parking lot59 m
cafe: Java Joe’s62 m
retail: Bespoke Optical63 m
parking lot72 m
rail77 m
retail: laser engraving Toronto78 m
retail: KiaJewelry86 m
transit stop: Sheppard Avenue West Entrance90 m
transit stop: Sheppard-Yonge Station93 m
parking lot: TTC Vehicle Parking95 m
retail: Food Basics100 m
transit stop: Sheppard-Yonge Station109 m
parking lot115 m
transit stop: Yonge / Poyntz Entrance124 m
cafe: Tim Hortons125 m
retail: Vape Loft127 m
retail: The Maze Hair Salon128 m
retail: LCBO129 m
transit stop: Sheppard-Yonge Station129 m
restaurant: Golden Rice Noodle129 m
cafe: Presotea131 m
transit stop: Sheppard-Yonge Station138 m
transit stop: Yonge St. @ Poyntz Ave.142 m
transit stop: Sheppard-Yonge Station147 m
parking lot149 m
restaurant: Taco Bell153 m
parking lot154 m
highway: Yonge Street155 m
highway: Yonge Street160 m
parking lot163 m
highway: Yonge Street164 m
highway: Yonge Street164 m
parking lot166 m
parking lot166 m
transit stop: Harlandale Av Entrance168 m
retail: myPet Shop on Yonge170 m
retail170 m
highway: Yonge Street171 m
transit stop: Sheppard-Yonge171 m
retail: Dahlia Wellness Centre173 m
restaurant: Super Chicken173 m
restaurant: Burrito Boyz177 m
transit stop: Yonge / Anndale Entramce180 m
transit stop: Sheppard-Yonge180 m
cafe: Another Land Coffee181 m
highway: Yonge Street181 m
parking lot181 m
transit stop: Sheppard-Yonge181 m
parking lot182 m
restaurant: McDonald's182 m
restaurant: EAT BKK Thai Kitchen184 m
transit stop: Sheppard-Yonge185 m
restaurant: Hero Certified Burgers185 m
rail186 m
parking lot186 m
rail186 m
parking lot187 m
highway: Yonge Street191 m
highway: Yonge Street192 m
highway: Yonge Street193 m
transit stop: Sheppard-Yonge193 m
parking lot193 m
transit stop: 4711 Yonge Street Entrance195 m
parking lot196 m
transit stop: Yonge Street at Sheppard Avenue West197 m
parking lot199 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
71th
Edge activation
22th
Connectivity
98th
Amenity diversity
80th
Natural comfort
54th
Enclosure
80th

Most similar parks

Closest in metric space across the five structural dimensions.

Warden Hilltop Community CentreParkette45
East Mall ParkNeighbourhood Park45
Beaty Boulevard ParketteCorridor / Linear Park42
Chandos Park NorthUrban Plaza44
Laughlin ParkUrban Plaza44

Most opposite parks

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

Arnell PlazaCivic Square50
Toronto Islands - Muggs Island ParkRavine / Naturalized Park25
Trca Lands ( 26)Ravine / Naturalized Park27
Rouge ParkRavine / Naturalized Park26
Rouge ParkRavine / Naturalized Park21

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 Albert Standing 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.

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

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.