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Toronto Parks Atlas
Wellesley - Magill Park, site photograph
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Urban Plazacluster ·Walkable Mid-Rise Neighbourhood Parks (enclosure-leaning)North St.James Town (74)confidence moderate

Wellesley - Magill Park

Urban Plaza, in the top tier overall (score 49, rank ~93th percentile). Strongest: edge activation; weakest: natural comfort.

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

Wellesley - Magill Park scores 49.2 / 100. Strongest dimensions: enclosure / eyes on park and edge activation. Weakest: amenity diversity (21). Border-vacuum risk is low. This score is a transparent reading of Jane Jacobs-style vitality factors, not a definitive judgment.

Best fordaily passing-throughpocket meetings

Area · 0.32 ha

What's here

Recreation
Garden
Facilities
Benches
Vitality Score
49/100

Weighted across six dimensions · confidence 66%

Data Confidence
49.2 / 100
Citywide
93rd
of all 3,788 parks
Among Urban Plaza
88th
same primary typology
Expected for similar parks
42
median in small Urban Plaza (n=115)
Performance gap
+8
raw − expected · context confidence high
modest overperformer

Scores are not bell-curved. Percentiles and expected scores provide context without changing the underlying model.

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Street context. Park polygon highlighted on the citywide map.

Boundary: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Explain this score

Where did the 49 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
Amenity Diversity21 · p70
-5.8
Enclosure / Eyes on Park79 · p84
+2.9
Border Vacuum Risk24 (risk)
+2.6
Edge Activation57 · p97
+1.7
Natural Comfort42 · p40
-1.2
Connectivity45 · p49
-1.1

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

Wellesley - Magill Park works because its edge activation score (57) is one of the city's strongest and its enclosure (79) is also top quartile (its perimeter is lined with active uses).

What limits this park

.

Most distinctive characteristic

Most distinctive feature: exceptionally high edge activation (57, top decile).

Jacobs reading

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

Tradeoffs

  • 15 nearby towers cast wind and shadow without contributing canopy: passive surveillance is plentiful but human-scale comfort is not.

Performance in context

  • A modest overperformer for its urban plaza typology (+8 vs the median in small Urban Plaza).

Typology classification

confidence 70%
Urban Plaza

Classified as Urban Plaza: 3203 m², paved (0% canopy), 22.5 buildings/100 m

Edge Activation

25% weightpartial 60%
56.7 / 100

Within 100 m of the park edge: 16 active uses (community, transit_stop, retail, restaurant, cafe) and 2 dead/hostile uses (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

20% weightmeasured 85%
44.6 / 100

Connectivity blends paths, intersections, transit, entrances, and edge density. This park has 0 mapped paths/walkways and 5 sidewalk segments within 50 m; 7 street intersections within 100 m; 13 transit stops within a 400 m walk; 0 estimated access points across ~352 m of perimeter. moderate edge density, small superblock penalty applied. Source coverage: centreline, pedestrian_network, transit_osm.

Streets within 25 m3
Intersections within 100 m7
Paths/walkways (50 m)0
Sidewalk segments (50 m)5
Transit stops (400 m)13
Estimated entrances0
Edge connections / 100 m perimeter0.85
Park perimeter352 m

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

Amenity Diversity

20% weightmeasured 75%
21.0 / 100

2 distinct amenity types in the park (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% weightinferred 36%
42.1 / 100

Natural-comfort components for this park: ~9.1% effective canopy (0.0% from contiguous tree polygons + scattered tree density); nearest waterbody ~1203 m; 13 city-mapped trees inside the polygon (13.0/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)1,203 m
Estimated green100.0%
City-mapped trees inside polygon13
Tree density13.0 / ha
Cover diversity (Shannon, 0 to 100)0.0
Sample points used24

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

Enclosure / Eyes on Park

10% weightmeasured 80%
79.4 / 100

79 buildings within 25 m of the park edge (46 mid-rise, 18 low-rise, 15 tower); avg edge height 32.2 m (~11 floors); 22.5 buildings per 100 m of 352 m perimeter (strong frontage density); edges lean tall but still framed; 15 towers ≥ 40 m within 25 m of the edge. "Eyes on the park" come strongest from the 46 mid-rise edge buildings.

Buildings within 25 m79
Buildings within 50 m79
Avg edge height32.2 m (~11 floors)
Tallest edge building129.5 m
Mid-rise (3 to 7 floors)46
Low-rise (< 3 floors)18
Towers (≥ 13 floors)15
Frontage density22.46 per 100 m perimeter
Mid-rise share of edge58%
Tower share of edge19%
Blank-edge share (proxy)0%
Park perimeter352 m

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

Border Vacuum Risk

10% weightpartial 60%
24.0 risk

Border-vacuum factors within 50 m of the park: 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: 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 (2 types · 3 records)

  • bench
  • garden

Nearby active-edge features (50)

  • community: Wellesley Community Centre30 m
  • parking lot35 m
  • parking lot41 m
  • transit stop: Wellesley Street East53 m
  • cafe: Red Rocket Coffee63 m
  • retail: Art City63 m
  • retail: Platis Cleaners63 m
  • retail: TopTech Expert67 m
  • retail: Rabba68 m
  • retail: Sherbourne Variety & Gift73 m
  • transit stop: Sherbourne Street73 m
  • restaurant: Subway75 m
  • transit stop: Sherbourne Street76 m
  • community: Toronto Public Library - St. James Town77 m
  • restaurant: Domino's Pizza78 m
  • restaurant: Freshslice Pizza78 m
  • transit stop91 m
  • transit stop: Wellesley Street East93 m
  • retail: Lemay Beauty Salon & Spa113 m
  • parking lot115 m
  • restaurant: Sarvi Indian Cuisine117 m
  • retail: Sweet Addictions123 m
  • parking lot126 m
  • transit stop: Earl Street131 m
  • parking lot132 m
  • parking lot135 m
  • parking lot135 m
  • community: St. James Town Community Corner136 m
  • parking lot138 m
  • parking lot138 m
  • parking lot146 m
  • retail: Rosar Morrison Funeral Home & Chapel148 m
  • parking lot153 m
  • parking lot155 m
  • restaurant: Mr. Jerk157 m
  • parking lot158 m
  • retail: FreshCo162 m
  • parking lot163 m
  • retail: Becker's164 m
  • parking lot165 m
  • parking lot173 m
  • parking lot180 m
  • parking lot181 m
  • parking lot186 m
  • retail: Smart Access186 m
  • transit stop: Jarvis Street187 m
  • restaurant: A&W191 m
  • parking lot195 m
  • restaurant: Gabby's198 m
  • parking lot198 m

Park profile

Five-axis radar across the structural dimensions.

Edge ActivationConnectivityAmenity DiversityNatural ComfortEnclosureWellesley - Magill Park
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
    93th
  • Edge activation
    97th
  • Connectivity
    49th
  • Amenity diversity
    70th
  • Natural comfort
    40th
  • Enclosure
    84th

Most similar parks

Closest in metric space across the five structural dimensions.

Most opposite parks

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

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 Wellesley - Magill 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.

Rate this park on as many dimensions as you have an opinion about. 1 = not at all, 5 = strongly. Skip the ones you don't feel sure about. Aggregated only, no comments stored at the row level.

feels socially active
feels comfortable
feels safe
feels connected
feels welcoming
feels ecological / natural
feels good for lingering
feels family-friendly
feels culturally important
70%

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

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.