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Toronto Parks Atlas
Dufferin Hill Park, site photograph
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ParketteType:Walkable Mid-Rise Neighbourhood Park (enclosure-leaning)Briar Hill-Belgravia

Dufferin Hill Park

Parkette, one of the city's strongest overall (score 53, rank ~96th percentile). Strongest: edge activation; weakest: amenity diversity.

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

Data updated

Dufferin Hill Park scores 52.6 / 100. Strongest dimensions: enclosure / eyes on park and natural comfort. Weakest: amenity diversity (11.9). Border-vacuum risk is low. This score is a transparent reading of Jane Jacobs-style vitality factors, not a definitive judgment.

Best fora quiet siteveryday neighbourhood use

Area · 0.19 ha

What's here

Facilities
Benches

Getting around

Paths

89 m of mapped path. Too little surface tagging to say how much is paved.

2 flights of steps on the mapped network.

Seating

Typically 14 m to the nearest bench, and 19 m at the far end.

Arrival

Nearest parking 51 m away. None of the 18 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.

Vitality Score
53/100

Weighted across six dimensions · confidence 68%

Data Confidence
52.6 / 100

Data confidence: moderate

Citywide
96th
of all 3,753 parks
Among Parkette
98th
same primary typology
Expected for similar parks
32
median in pocket Parkette (n=263)
Performance gap
+21
raw − expected · context confidence high
strong overperformer

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

Loading map…

The parks map is loading.
Street context. Park polygon highlighted on the citywide map.

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.

Download JSON
What pushed this score up or down vs a neutral 50weight × score
Amenity Diversity12 · p54
-7.6
Border Vacuum Risk0 (risk)
+5.0
Enclosure / Eyes on Park84 · p89
+3.4
Natural Comfort70 · p85
+3.0
Edge Activation39 · p91
-2.9
Connectivity59 · p74
+1.7

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

Dufferin Hill Park works because its edge activation score (39) is in the top tier and its enclosure (84) is also top quartile.

What limits this park

Dufferin Hill Park doesn't have a clear weakness. Every measured dimension is at or above the middle of the pack.

Most distinctive characteristic

Most distinctive feature: exceptionally high edge activation (39, top decile).

Jacobs reading

Dufferin Hill 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 32 for similar parks (pocket Parkette) (gap +21).

Typology classification

confidence 70%
Parkette

Classified as Parkette: small (1910 m²) with strong building frontage (32.8 per 100 m)

Edge Activation

25% weightpartial 60%
38.5 / 100

Within 100 m of the park edge: 10 active uses (transit_stop, retail) and 3 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: OpenStreetMap: cafes, restaurants, shops, schools, community centres, transit, parking, highways, rail. All data sources.

Connectivity

20% weightmeasured 85%
58.6 / 100

Connectivity blends paths, intersections, transit, entrances, and edge density. This park has 6 mapped paths/walkways and 7 sidewalk segments within 50 m; 4 street intersections within 100 m; 6 bus stops within a 400 m walk; 3 estimated access points across ~177 m of perimeter. edge density is healthy, no superblock penalty. Source coverage: centreline, pedestrian_network, transit_osm.

Streets within 25 m5
Intersections within 100 m4
Paths/walkways (50 m)6
Sidewalk segments (50 m)7
Transit stops (400 m)6 (0 subway/GO, 0 streetcar/LRT, 6 bus)
Estimated entrances3
Edge connections / 100 m perimeter2.83
Park perimeter177 m

Source: Toronto Centreline V2 + Pedestrian Network + OSM transit stops. All data sources.

Amenity Diversity

20% weightmeasured 75%
11.9 / 100

1 distinct amenity types in the park (bench). Diversity 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. All data sources.

Natural Comfort

15% weightpartial 48%
69.8 / 100

Natural-comfort components for this park: 41.2% estimated tree canopy; 8 city-mapped trees inside the polygon (8.0/ha). Reading: partially shaded. Source coverage: treed_area, street_trees. Impervious surface is approximated (Toronto's authoritative layer ships only as a raster GeoTIFF).

Canopy coverage41.2%
Canopy area0.08 ha
Inside ravine system0.0%
Water surface inside park0.0%
Nearest water (if outside park)1,500 m
Estimated green100.0%
City-mapped trees inside polygon8
Tree density8.0 / ha
Cover diversity (Shannon, 0 to 100)97.7
Sample points used17

Source: Toronto Treed Area + Ravine + Waterbodies + Street Tree Inventory. All data sources.

Enclosure / Eyes on Park

10% weightmeasured 80%
83.7 / 100

58 buildings within 25 m of the park edge (14 mid-rise, 44 low-rise, 0 tower); avg edge height 6.6 m (~2 floors); 32.8 buildings per 100 m of 177 m perimeter (strong frontage density); edges are low-rise (mostly 2 to 3 floors); no towers immediately adjacent. "Eyes on the park" come strongest from the 14 mid-rise edge buildings.

Buildings within 25 m58
Buildings within 50 m58
Avg edge height6.6 m (~2 floors)
Tallest edge building13.3 m
Mid-rise (3 to 7 floors)14
Low-rise (< 3 floors)44
Towers (≥ 13 floors)0
Frontage density32.83 per 100 m perimeter
Mid-rise share of edge24%
Tower share of edge0%
Blank-edge share (proxy)0%
Park perimeter177 m

Source: Toronto 3D Massing (building footprints + heights). All data sources.

Border Vacuum Risk

10% weightpartial 60%
0.0 risk

Park edges face the city. No significant border vacuum detected.

Source: OpenStreetMap: highways, rail, parking. All data sources.

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: Not loaded yet: Toronto Neighbourhood Profiles. All data sources.

Amenities (1 types · 7 records)

  • bench

Nearby active-edge features (39)

  • transit stop: Dufferin St at Briar Hill Ave22 m
  • transit stop: Dufferin St at Briar Hill Ave23 m
  • parking lot51 m
  • retail: Goodyear56 m
  • transit stop: Stayner Avenue65 m
  • parking lot65 m
  • retail: Unique Cleaners71 m
  • retail: Avenue 22 Bridal75 m
  • parking lot88 m
  • retail: IGO Optical89 m
  • retail: Rhonrose Printing and Copy89 m
  • retail: Vibagio Hair Studio95 m
  • retail: HearingLife95 m
  • parking lot103 m
  • transit stop: Wingold Avenue121 m
  • retail: Century Builders Hardware Ltd.124 m
  • parking lot128 m
  • parking lot129 m
  • parking lot130 m
  • cafe: Tim Hortons134 m
  • retail: Solo Vape144 m
  • retail: Girls Beauty Clinic152 m
  • parking lot152 m
  • parking lot153 m
  • restaurant: Taste of Shawarma154 m
  • retail: Star Binz Liquidation154 m
  • parking lot158 m
  • transit stop: Castlefield Avenue159 m
  • parking lot162 m
  • restaurant: Toronto Pho167 m
  • parking lot168 m
  • parking lot168 m
  • parking lot172 m
  • retail: Lavender Grace173 m
  • retail: Consumers Lighting & Lamps175 m
  • parking lot176 m
  • parking lot178 m
  • parking lot181 m
  • parking lot199 m

Park profile

Five-axis radar across the structural dimensions.

Edge ActivationConnectivityAmenity DiversityNatural ComfortEnclosureDufferin Hill 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
    96th
  • Edge activation
    91th
  • Connectivity
    74th
  • Amenity diversity
    54th
  • Natural comfort
    85th
  • Enclosure
    89th

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 Dufferin Hill Park 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.

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.

  • 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.

Data sources

real Toronto data
  • City of Toronto Open Data: Green Spaces
    Polygon boundaries, official names, land classes. 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.
  • OpenStreetMap (Overpass API)
    Cafés, restaurants, retail, transit stops, parking, highways, rail.