Willowdale Cemetery
Urban Plaza, near the bottom of the city overall (score 24, rank ~10th percentile). Strongest: enclosure; weakest: natural comfort.
No photograph yet. If you have one of Willowdale Cemetery, we would like to use it.
Submit a photoAerial, City of Toronto orthophoto, ~8 cm/px source · cached 5/9/2026
Data updated
Willowdale Cemetery scores 23.8 / 100. Strongest dimensions: enclosure / eyes on park and connectivity. Weakest: amenity diversity (0). Border-vacuum risk is elevated (66). This score is a transparent reading of Jane Jacobs-style vitality factors, not a definitive judgment.
Area · 0.25 ha
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.
No seating mapped in OpenStreetMap.
Nearest parking 35 m away. None of the 17 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 56%
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.Explain this score
Where did the 24 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
Willowdale Cemetery works because its enclosure score (70) is above average (6 mid-rise buildings frame the edge with passive surveillance).
What limits this park
Willowdale Cemetery is held back by natural comfort (22, bottom quartile): only 0% canopy means little summer shade; border-vacuum risk is also elevated (66).
Most distinctive characteristic
Most distinctive feature: exceptionally low natural comfort (22, bottom quartile).
Jacobs reading
Willowdale Cemetery sits between an urban social park and an ecological retreat: moderately useful for both, exceptionally suited to neither.
Tradeoffs
- Connectivity (50) significantly outpaces natural comfort (22): well placed in the city but offers little shade or ecological respite.
- The park is enclosed by buildings (70) but the surrounding streets are quiet (edge activation 0): frame without animation.
- 10 nearby towers cast wind and shadow without contributing canopy: passive surveillance is plentiful but human-scale comfort is not.
Performance in context
- Strong underperformer relative to its cohort: raw 24 vs an expected 38 (gap -14).
Typology classification
Classified as Urban Plaza: 2456 m², paved (0% canopy), 13.3 buildings/100 m
Edge Activation
Within 100 m of the park edge: 36 active uses (retail, transit_stop, restaurant, cafe) and 11 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: 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 14 sidewalk segments within 50 m; 5 street intersections within 100 m; 5 bus stops within a 400 m walk; 0 estimated access points across ~225 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
No amenities recorded.
Source: Toronto Parks & Recreation Facilities + OSM amenity tags. All data sources.
Natural Comfort
Natural-comfort components for this park: 0.0% estimated tree canopy; nearest waterbody ~1422 m. Reading: exposed. Source coverage: waterbodies. 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
30 buildings within 25 m of the park edge (6 mid-rise, 14 low-rise, 10 tower); avg edge height 32.2 m (~11 floors); 13.3 buildings per 100 m of 225 m perimeter (strong frontage density); edges lean tall but still framed; 10 towers ≥ 40 m within 25 m of the edge. "Eyes on the park" come strongest from the 6 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 for H Mart, parking_lot, parking_lot, 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 (0)
No amenities recorded for this park.
Nearby active-edge features (80)
- cafe: Tim Hortons8 m
- highway: Yonge Street19 m
- restaurant: Kim’s A La Cart22 m
- retail: Wine Rack28 m
- transit stop: Yonge Street at Church Avenue28 m
- retail: QQ Lashes31 m
- transit stop: Yonge St. @ Churchill Ave.33 m
- transit stop: Yonge Street at Churchill Avenue34 m
- retail: Floy Beauty34 m
- parking lot35 m
- parking lot: Parking for H Mart37 m
- retail: NINE38 m
- retail: Luna Bakery39 m
- restaurant: Miss Durian41 m
- restaurant: Go Topoki46 m
- parking lot46 m
- restaurant: Don't Yell At Me48 m
- restaurant: Bao House51 m
- parking lot52 m
- parking lot53 m
- parking lot53 m
- retail: The OWL’s Meat Shop55 m
- retail: Rouzbeh Hair Salon59 m
- retail: N Hair Salon60 m
- parking lot60 m
- restaurant: Lucky Tea64 m
- restaurant: Roll.com64 m
- retail: Koko Hair Salon65 m
- retail: Azita Beauty Salon65 m
- retail: Danmi Nails & Brows65 m
- retail: La La Wellness Centre66 m
- restaurant: Lee Yakiniku66 m
- restaurant: XiangLongZhuaZhua70 m
- restaurant: Haida Sandwich74 m
- parking lot74 m
- retail: Garden Hairdressing76 m
- retail: H2 Nails & Spa77 m
- restaurant: The Poke Box79 m
- parking lot81 m
- restaurant: Chinese Burger 肉来谟82 m
- restaurant: Kim's Table84 m
- retail: Urban Cleaners85 m
- retail: Haiwai Travel88 m
- retail: Toy's Collection91 m
- transit stop: Yonge Street at Horsham Avenue91 m
- highway: Yonge Street93 m
- transit stop: Yonge Street at Northtown Way95 m
- restaurant: Chat Bar103 m
- restaurant: DakGoGi108 m
- restaurant: i-migo108 m
- retail: Northtown Convenience110 m
- retail: Celebrity Hair Stylist111 m
- retail: Bruce Hairstylist113 m
- parking lot114 m
- restaurant: 555 Boat Noodles115 m
- restaurant: Pho Dac Biet116 m
- retail: DigitM116 m
- restaurant: Zhang's Kitchen 张小厨119 m
- retail: Hair I Am Studio120 m
- retail: Pink Lipstick Beauty Supply122 m
- retail: Central Vape City125 m
- retail: UCRUISING126 m
- retail: 依 e's Beauty Studio127 m
- retail: Pumpkin Clothing and Accessories129 m
- retail: Queen's Nail129 m
- retail: KC Tour132 m
- retail: Happy Vacations133 m
- retail: Unicorn Pâtisserie & Lounge134 m
- retail: L'amour135 m
- retail: Sun Hair Salon135 m
- restaurant: CU Tteobokki138 m
- retail: sis² by Love139 m
- parking lot140 m
- restaurant: Beijing Restaurant141 m
- restaurant: Crystal Palace141 m
- parking lot142 m
- restaurant: 43° N BBQ Bar145 m
- restaurant: Cheng Du Taste146 m
- restaurant: Ai Taiker146 m
- retail: Breeze Salon151 m
Park profile
Five-axis radar across the structural dimensions.
Citywide percentile ranks
Across all Toronto parks in the dataset.
- Overall vitality10th
- Edge activation29th
- Connectivity59th
- Amenity diversity16th
- Natural comfort0th
- Enclosure72th
Most similar parks
Closest in metric space across the five structural dimensions.
- Scarlett - St. Clair ParketteParkette20
- Humber River WatercourseCorridor / Linear Park20
- City Wide Open SpaceCorridor / Linear Park27
- City Wide Open SpaceCorridor / Linear Park27
- City Wide Open SpaceParkette21
Most opposite parks
Furthest in metric space. Useful for recognising what kind of park this isn’t.
- Kew GardensNeighbourhood Park76
- Toronto ZooWaterfront Park68
- Bellevue Square ParkCivic Square73
- Leslie Grove ParkParkette73
- David Crombie ParkCorridor / Linear Park71
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 Willowdale Cemetery 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.