Mckenzie Parkette
Urban Plaza, above average overall (score 43, rank ~81th percentile). Strongest: connectivity; weakest: edge activation.
No photograph yet. If you have one of Mckenzie Parkette, we would like to use it.
Submit a photoAerial, City of Toronto orthophoto, ~8 cm/px source · cached 5/9/2026
Data updated
Mckenzie Parkette scores 43.3 / 100. Strongest dimensions: enclosure / eyes on park and connectivity. Weakest: edge activation (0). Border-vacuum risk is low. This score is a transparent reading of Jane Jacobs-style vitality factors, not a definitive judgment.
Area · 0.34 ha
What's here
Getting around
281 m of mapped path. Too little surface tagging to say how much is paved.
No steps mapped on the path network.
Not enough mapped seating to assess (1 bench mapped).
Nearest parking 113 m away. None of the 16 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 65%
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.Boundary: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Near the park
1Empress Collonettes
Randy and Berenicci, 1998
Architecture / Landscape · copper plate
Photo: City of Toronto. Source: City of Toronto Public Art
Numbers match the pins on the map. Works near the park are within 30 m of its edge.
Explain this score
Where did the 43 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
Mckenzie Parkette works because its connectivity score (71) is in the top tier and its enclosure (82) is also top quartile (12 intersections fall within 100 m of the edge).
What limits this park
Mckenzie Parkette is held back by edge activation (0, bottom quartile): the surrounding streets carry too few active uses to spill into the park.
Most distinctive characteristic
Most distinctive feature: exceptionally high connectivity (71, top decile).
Jacobs reading
Mckenzie Parkette sits between an urban social park and an ecological retreat: moderately useful for both, exceptionally suited to neither.
Tradeoffs
- Connectivity (71) significantly outpaces natural comfort (43): well placed in the city but offers little shade or ecological respite.
- The park is enclosed by buildings (82) but the surrounding streets are quiet (edge activation 0): frame without animation.
- 11 nearby towers cast wind and shadow without contributing canopy: passive surveillance is plentiful but human-scale comfort is not.
Typology classification
Classified as Urban Plaza: 3424 m², paved (0% canopy), 17.0 buildings/100 m
Edge Activation
Within 100 m of the park edge: 0 active uses (none) and 0 dead/hostile uses (none). 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 10 mapped paths/walkways and 16 sidewalk segments within 50 m; 12 street intersections within 100 m; 1 subway or GO station, 5 bus stops within a 400 m walk; 6 estimated access points across ~353 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
2 distinct amenity types in the park (bench, garden). Diversity drives the score, so a park with many distinct activity types can outrank a larger park that repeats the same use. 1 public artwork near the park adds a bonus for the number of works.
Source: Toronto Parks & Recreation Facilities + OSM amenity tags. All data sources.
Natural Comfort
Natural-comfort components for this park: ~10.5% effective canopy (0.0% from contiguous tree polygons + scattered tree density); 15 city-mapped trees inside the polygon (15.0/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. All data sources.
Enclosure / Eyes on Park
60 buildings within 25 m of the park edge (4 mid-rise, 45 low-rise, 11 tower); avg edge height 14.6 m (~5 floors); 17.0 buildings per 100 m of 353 m perimeter (strong frontage density); edges are at a Jacobs-scale walkable mid-rise (3 to 7 floors); 11 towers ≥ 40 m within 25 m of the edge. "Eyes on the park" come strongest from the 4 mid-rise edge buildings.
Source: Toronto 3D Massing (building footprints + heights). All data sources.
Border Vacuum Risk
Park edges face the city. No significant border vacuum detected.
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 (2 types · 3 records)
- bench
- garden
Nearby active-edge features (55)
- retail108 m
- retail: I Cosmetic108 m
- retail: The Printing House108 m
- restaurant: Yunshang Rice Noodle110 m
- parking lot113 m
- restaurant: Yang's Braised Chicken Rice114 m
- restaurant: Yungshang Rice Noodles115 m
- retail: sis² by Love117 m
- retail: 依 e's Beauty Studio119 m
- restaurant: 43° N BBQ Bar120 m
- retail: Unicorn Pâtisserie & Lounge123 m
- transit stop: Yonge Street at Norton Avenue125 m
- parking lot126 m
- restaurant: Pho Dac Biet130 m
- restaurant: Ajisen Ramen130 m
- restaurant: Subway132 m
- parking lot133 m
- parking lot137 m
- restaurant: Evivva Restaurant Breakfast & Lunch137 m
- highway: Yonge Street139 m
- parking lot147 m
- parking lot149 m
- retail: Garden Hairdressing150 m
- parking lot153 m
- parking lot154 m
- transit stop: Yonge Street at Ellerslie Avenue155 m
- retail: H2 Nails & Spa155 m
- parking lot155 m
- parking lot160 m
- parking lot166 m
- parking lot167 m
- restaurant: Daldongnae Korean BBQ167 m
- parking lot170 m
- parking lot: Parking for H Mart170 m
- restaurant: Good Taste Casserole Rice171 m
- restaurant: 555 Boat Noodles172 m
- cafe: ITS TEA175 m
- parking lot175 m
- restaurant: Honeymoon Dessert175 m
- restaurant: DakGoGi176 m
- restaurant: Chat Bar177 m
- retail: Toy's Collection182 m
- retail: Hermosa Medical Esthetics183 m
- retail: Hair I Am Studio183 m
- parking lot184 m
- restaurant: Kim's Table186 m
- highway: Yonge Street189 m
- restaurant: The Poke Box189 m
- retail: Elysia Beauty Bar189 m
- retail: North York Ink192 m
- retail: Haiwai Travel192 m
- retail: Pixel Ink Tattoo193 m
- restaurant: Kim’s A La Cart194 m
- transit stop: Yonge Street at Church Avenue194 m
- retail: Lucullus200 m
Park profile
Five-axis radar across the structural dimensions.
Citywide percentile ranks
Across all Toronto parks in the dataset.
- Overall vitality81th
- Edge activation8th
- Connectivity92th
- Amenity diversity75th
- Natural comfort40th
- Enclosure87th
Most similar parks
Closest in metric space across the five structural dimensions.
- Princess Street ParkUrban Plaza38
- Broadview Subway Station ParketteUrban Plaza37
- Bruce Mackey ParkCorridor / Linear Park39
- Warden Hilltop Community Centre ParkNeighbourhood Park42
- LEASIDE MEMORIAL COMMUNITY GARDENS ARENA - Building GroundsCivic Square33
Most opposite parks
Furthest in metric space. Useful for recognising what kind of park this isn’t.
- Trca Lands ( 26)Ravine / Naturalized Park27
- Arnell PlazaCivic Square50
- Toronto Islands - Muggs Island ParkRavine / Naturalized Park26
- Rouge ParkRavine / Naturalized Park28
- Rouge ParkRavine / Naturalized Park26
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 Mckenzie Parkette 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.