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Etobicoke Hydro Green Space — site photograph
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Othercluster ·Active-edged · exposed parksIslington-City Centre West (14)confidence moderatereal Toronto data

Etobicoke Hydro Green Space

Other, middle of the pack overall (score 38, rank ~66th percentile). Strongest: edge activation; weakest: natural comfort.

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

Etobicoke Hydro Green Space scores 37.7 / 100. Strongest dimensions: enclosure / eyes on park and connectivity. Weakest: amenity diversity (0). Border-vacuum risk is low. This score is a transparent reading of Jane Jacobs-style vitality factors — not a definitive judgment.

Best for:varies — see metrics

Area · 0.37 ha

Vitality Score
38/100

Weighted across six dimensions · confidence 56%

Data Confidence
37.7 / 100
Citywide
66th
of all 3,273 parks
Among Other
92nd
same primary typology
Expected for similar parks
24
median in small Other (n=41)
Performance gap
+14
raw − expected · context confidence high
strong overperformer

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

Explain this score

Where did the 38 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 Diversity0 · p27
-10.0
Border Vacuum Risk0 (risk)
+5.0
Natural Comfort24 · p4
-3.9
Edge Activation41 · p93
-2.3
Connectivity45 · p45
-0.9
Enclosure / Eyes on Park48 · p12
-0.2

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

Etobicoke Hydro Green Space works because its edge activation score (41) is in the top tier.

What limits this park

Etobicoke Hydro Green Space is held back by natural comfort (24, bottom quartile)— only 0% canopy means little summer shade.

Most distinctive characteristic

Most distinctive feature: exceptionally low natural comfort (24, bottom quartile).

Jacobs reading

Etobicoke Hydro Green Space 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 38 versus an expected 24 for similar parks (small Other) (gap +14).
  • Although its citywide rank is low (66th), it ranks highly among similar others (92nd) — strong for what it is, even if the absolute score is moderate.

Typology classification

confidence 30%
Other

Classified as Other: does not meet any specific typology threshold (0.4 ha, 0 amenity types, frontage 1.9/100m)

Edge Activation

25% weightpartial 60%
40.7 / 100

Within 100 m of the park edge: 16 active uses (retail, transit_stop, restaurant) and 4 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%
45.4 / 100

Connectivity blends paths, intersections, transit, entrances, and edge density. This park has 0 mapped paths/walkways and 9 sidewalk segments within 50 m; 3 street intersections within 100 m; 11 transit stops within a 400 m walk; 0 estimated access points across ~312 m of perimeter. edge density is healthy — no superblock penalty. Source coverage: centreline, pedestrian_network, transit_osm.

Streets within 25 m5
Intersections within 100 m3
Paths/walkways (50 m)0
Sidewalk segments (50 m)9
Transit stops (400 m)11
Estimated entrances0
Edge connections / 100 m perimeter1.60
Park perimeter312 m

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

Amenity Diversity

20% weightinferred 30%
0.0 / 100

No amenities recorded — score is 0 until inventory is loaded.

Source: Toronto Parks & Recreation Facilities + OSM amenity tags

Natural Comfort

15% weightinferred 30%
24.2 / 100

Natural-comfort components for this park: 0.0% estimated tree canopy; nearest waterbody ~754 m. Reading: exposed. Source coverage: waterbodies. 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)754 m
Estimated green100.0%
City-mapped trees inside polygon0
Tree density0.0 / ha
Cover diversity (Shannon, 0–100)0.0
Sample points used27

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

Enclosure / Eyes on Park

10% weightmeasured 80%
47.9 / 100

6 buildings within 25 m of the park edge (1 mid-rise, 5 low-rise, 0 tower); avg edge height 5.6 m (~2 floors); 1.9 buildings per 100 m of 312 m perimeter — moderate frontage density; edges are barely there or single-storey; no towers immediately adjacent. "Eyes on the park" come strongest from the 1 mid-rise edge buildings.

Buildings within 25 m6
Buildings within 50 m6
Avg edge height5.6 m (~2 floors)
Tallest edge building9.9 m
Mid-rise (3–7 floors)1
Low-rise (< 3 floors)5
Towers (≥ 13 floors)0
Frontage density1.93 per 100 m perimeter
Mid-rise share of edge17%
Tower share of edge0%
Blank-edge share (proxy)36%
Park perimeter312 m

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

Border Vacuum Risk

10% weightpartial 60%
0.0 risk

Park edges face the city — no significant border vacuum detected.

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 (0)

No amenities recorded for this park.

Nearby active-edge features (55)

  • transit stop — North Queen St at Manstor Rd4 m
  • retail — Sleep Country19 m
  • retail — Paris Baguette21 m
  • retail — Picasso Medi and Nails Spa22 m
  • retail — Fika Local Cannabis23 m
  • retail — Veg ER for Pets23 m
  • retail — Soft Moc Shoe Rack23 m
  • transit stop — North Queen St at Manstor Rd25 m
  • restaurant — Firehouse Subs27 m
  • restaurant — BarBurrito33 m
  • retail — Penningtons36 m
  • retail — Blo Blow Dry Bar45 m
  • retail — Tip Top Tailors48 m
  • parking lot56 m
  • retail — Laura63 m
  • retail — Reitmans82 m
  • retail83 m
  • parking lot92 m
  • parking lot95 m
  • parking lot96 m
  • retail — DSW120 m
  • retail — My Top Drawer121 m
  • retail — Canna Cabana122 m
  • retail — Michaels123 m
  • restaurant — Mr. Souvlaki131 m
  • retail — Memory Express133 m
  • parking lot134 m
  • parking lot134 m
  • transit stop — Index Road135 m
  • retail — Dollarama139 m
  • retail — Nice One Nails140 m
  • parking lot141 m
  • retail — Tail Blazers142 m
  • parking lot145 m
  • retail — Nails 4 You146 m
  • retail — Old Navy147 m
  • transit stop — North Queen St at Nova Rd148 m
  • retail — Nothing Bundt Cakes150 m
  • restaurant — Five Guys159 m
  • retail — Sport Chek161 m
  • parking lot166 m
  • retail — Salons by jc172 m
  • parking lot176 m
  • retail — Mark's177 m
  • parking lot179 m
  • retail — Vision Centre at Walmart183 m
  • restaurant — Pür & Simple183 m
  • parking lot185 m
  • transit stop — Index Road187 m
  • restaurant — McDonald's190 m
  • retail — EB Games191 m
  • parking lot191 m
  • parking lot193 m
  • transit stop — North Queen St at Nova Rd196 m
  • retail — Structube198 m

Park profile

Five-axis radar across the structural dimensions.

Edge ActivationConnectivityAmenity DiversityNatural ComfortEnclosureEtobicoke Hydro Green Space

Citywide percentile ranks

Across all Toronto parks in the dataset.

  • Overall vitality
    66th
  • Edge activation
    93th
  • Connectivity
    45th
  • Amenity diversity
    27th
  • Natural comfort
    4th
  • Enclosure
    12th

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 Etobicoke Hydro Green Spacematters. 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

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.
  • 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.
  • Encourage mid-rise, windowed frontages around the park so residents have direct sightlines onto it.

Data sources

  • City of Toronto Open Data — Parks (Green Space)
    Polygon boundaries, official names, types.
  • 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.