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Ellesmere Park — site photograph
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Othercluster ·Walkable Mid-Rise Neighbourhood Parks (large-scale)Wexford/Maryvale (119)confidence moderatereal Toronto data

Ellesmere Park

Other, below average overall (score 29, rank ~25th percentile). Strongest: amenity diversity; weakest: enclosure.

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

Ellesmere Park scores 28.8 / 100. Strongest dimensions: connectivity and natural comfort. Weakest: edge activation (0). Border-vacuum risk is elevated (72). This score is a transparent reading of Jane Jacobs-style vitality factors — not a definitive judgment.

Best for:varies — see metrics

Area · 2.81 ha

Vitality Score
29/100

Weighted across six dimensions · confidence 68%

Data Confidence
28.8 / 100
Citywide
25th
of all 3,273 parks
Among Other
66th
same primary typology
Expected for similar parks
28
median in medium Other (n=60)
Performance gap
+1
raw − expected · context confidence high
typical

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

Explain this score

Where did the 29 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
Edge Activation0 · p57
-12.5
Amenity Diversity28 · p95
-4.3
Border Vacuum Risk72 (risk)
-2.2
Natural Comfort41 · p39
-1.4
Enclosure / Eyes on Park38 · p8
-1.2
Connectivity52 · p59
+0.5

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

Ellesmere Park works because its amenity diversity score (28) is one of the city's strongest.

What limits this park

Ellesmere Park is held back by enclosure (38, bottom quartile)— no mid-rise frontage to provide eyes on the park; border-vacuum risk is also elevated (72).

Most distinctive characteristic

Most distinctive feature: exceptionally high amenity diversity (28, top decile).

Jacobs reading

Ellesmere Park is currently underperforming on both axes — neither integrated into the city nor offering deep natural respite. A candidate for design intervention.

Performance in context

  • Although its citywide rank is low (25th), it ranks highly among similar others (66th) — 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 (2.8 ha, 3 amenity types, frontage 1.3/100m)

Edge Activation

25% weightpartial 60%
0.0 / 100

Within 100 m of the park edge: 8 active uses (transit_stop, restaurant) and 14 dead/hostile uses (parking_lot, rail). 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%
52.4 / 100

Connectivity blends paths, intersections, transit, entrances, and edge density. This park has 8 mapped paths/walkways and 12 sidewalk segments within 50 m; 5 street intersections within 100 m; 13 transit stops within a 400 m walk; 2 estimated access points across ~752 m of perimeter. low edge density — significant superblock penalty applied. Source coverage: centreline, pedestrian_network, transit_osm.

Streets within 25 m2
Intersections within 100 m5
Paths/walkways (50 m)8
Sidewalk segments (50 m)12
Transit stops (400 m)13
Estimated entrances2
Edge connections / 100 m perimeter0.27
Park perimeter752 m

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

Amenity Diversity

20% weightmeasured 75%
28.4 / 100

3 distinct amenity types in the park (community_centre, playground, skatepark). 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% weightpartial 45%
40.7 / 100

Natural-comfort components for this park: ~5.5% effective canopy (0.0% from contiguous tree polygons + scattered tree density); nearest waterbody ~414 m; 22 city-mapped trees inside the polygon (7.8/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)414 m
Estimated green100.0%
City-mapped trees inside polygon22
Tree density7.8 / ha
Cover diversity (Shannon, 0–100)0.0
Sample points used198

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

Enclosure / Eyes on Park

10% weightmeasured 80%
37.7 / 100

10 buildings within 25 m of the park edge (0 mid-rise, 10 low-rise, 0 tower); avg edge height 5.1 m (~2 floors); 1.3 buildings per 100 m of 752 m perimeter — thin frontage — significant blank-edge share; edges are barely there or single-storey; no towers immediately adjacent. "Eyes on the park" come strongest from the 0 mid-rise edge buildings.

Buildings within 25 m10
Buildings within 50 m10
Avg edge height5.1 m (~2 floors)
Tallest edge building8.1 m
Mid-rise (3–7 floors)0
Low-rise (< 3 floors)10
Towers (≥ 13 floors)0
Frontage density1.33 per 100 m perimeter
Mid-rise share of edge0%
Tower share of edge0%
Blank-edge share (proxy)56%
Park perimeter752 m

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

Border Vacuum Risk

10% weightpartial 60%
72.0 risk

Border-vacuum factors within 50 m of the park: Belleville Subdivision, Belleville Subdivision, parking_lot, parking_lot, parking_lot. Jacobs warned that highways, rail, parking lots and blank institutional edges act as "vacuums" — they 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 (3 types · 3 records)

  • community centre
  • playground
  • skatepark

Nearby active-edge features (43)

  • parking lot0 m
  • parking lot4 m
  • rail — Belleville Subdivision33 m
  • transit stop33 m
  • parking lot36 m
  • rail — Belleville Subdivision38 m
  • transit stop — Warden Avenue at Canadian Road North Side50 m
  • transit stop — Warden Avenue at Ellesmere Road53 m
  • parking lot61 m
  • parking lot63 m
  • parking lot75 m
  • parking lot75 m
  • transit stop — 426 Ellesmere Road75 m
  • parking lot75 m
  • parking lot75 m
  • transit stop — Ellesmere Road at Warden Avenue78 m
  • parking lot79 m
  • parking lot81 m
  • restaurant — V.I.P. Pool & Bar93 m
  • parking lot98 m
  • transit stop — Warden Avenue at Canadian Road99 m
  • transit stop — Ellesmere Road at Warden Avenue100 m
  • parking lot103 m
  • parking lot103 m
  • parking lot104 m
  • transit stop — Warden Avenue at Ellesmere Road106 m
  • school — Sathya Sai School114 m
  • parking lot119 m
  • parking lot120 m
  • parking lot121 m
  • parking lot123 m
  • parking lot129 m
  • parking lot137 m
  • retail — Costco Tire Centre138 m
  • restaurant — Costco Food Court138 m
  • parking lot140 m
  • parking lot141 m
  • parking lot143 m
  • parking lot158 m
  • restaurant — Mamajoun Pizzeria187 m
  • parking lot191 m
  • parking lot191 m
  • parking lot194 m

Park profile

Five-axis radar across the structural dimensions.

Edge ActivationConnectivityAmenity DiversityNatural ComfortEnclosureEllesmere Park

Citywide percentile ranks

Across all Toronto parks in the dataset.

  • Overall vitality
    25th
  • Edge activation
    57th
  • Connectivity
    59th
  • Amenity diversity
    95th
  • Natural comfort
    39th
  • Enclosure
    8th

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 Ellesmere 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

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