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YORKWOODS PUBLIC SCHOOL - Building Grounds, site photograph
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Othercluster ·Underperforming / Leftover Spaces (enclosure-leaning)Glenfield-Jane Heights (25)confidence moderate

YORKWOODS PUBLIC SCHOOL - Building Grounds

Other, middle of the pack overall (score 34, rank ~48th percentile). Strongest: enclosure; weakest: natural comfort.

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

YORKWOODS PUBLIC SCHOOL - Building Grounds scores 33.9 / 100. Strongest dimensions: enclosure / eyes on park and connectivity. Weakest: edge activation (0). Border-vacuum risk is elevated (36). This score is a transparent reading of Jane Jacobs-style vitality factors, not a definitive judgment.

Best forvaries (see metrics)

Area · 2.41 ha

What's here

Recreation
PlaygroundSports field
Vitality Score
34/100

Weighted across six dimensions · confidence 72%

Data Confidence
33.9 / 100
Citywide
48th
of all 3,788 parks
Among Other
81st
same primary typology
Expected for similar parks
30
median in medium Other (n=181)
Performance gap
+4
raw − expected · context confidence high
typical

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.

Explain this score

Where did the 34 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 · p34
-12.5
Amenity Diversity21 · p72
-5.8
Enclosure / Eyes on Park76 · p79
+2.6
Natural Comfort36 · p27
-2.1
Border Vacuum Risk36 (risk)
+1.4
Connectivity51 · p61
+0.3

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

YORKWOODS PUBLIC SCHOOL - Building Grounds works because its enclosure score (76) is above average and its amenity diversity (21) is also above-average (2 mid-rise buildings frame the edge with passive surveillance).

What limits this park

YORKWOODS PUBLIC SCHOOL - Building Grounds is held back by natural comfort (36, below-average): only 1% canopy means little summer shade; border-vacuum risk is also elevated (36).

Most distinctive characteristic

Most distinctive feature: exceptionally high enclosure (76, top quartile).

Jacobs reading

YORKWOODS PUBLIC SCHOOL - Building Grounds sits between an urban social park and an ecological retreat: moderately useful for both, exceptionally suited to neither.

Tradeoffs

  • The park is enclosed by buildings (76) but the surrounding streets are quiet (edge activation 0): frame without animation.

Performance in context

  • Although its citywide rank is low (48th), it ranks highly among similar others (81st): 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 (2.4 ha, 2 amenity types, frontage 8.7/100m)

Edge Activation

25% weightpartial 60%
0.0 / 100

Within 100 m of the park edge: 7 active uses (transit_stop, retail, restaurant) and 7 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%
51.3 / 100

Connectivity blends paths, intersections, transit, entrances, and edge density. This park has 10 mapped paths/walkways and 10 sidewalk segments within 50 m; 4 street intersections within 100 m; 11 transit stops within a 400 m walk; 0 estimated access points across ~654 m of perimeter. moderate edge density, small superblock penalty applied. Source coverage: centreline, pedestrian_network, transit_osm.

Streets within 25 m4
Intersections within 100 m4
Paths/walkways (50 m)10
Sidewalk segments (50 m)10
Transit stops (400 m)11
Estimated entrances0
Edge connections / 100 m perimeter0.61
Park perimeter654 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 (playground, sports_field). 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% weightmeasured 75%
36.2 / 100

Natural-comfort components for this park: 1.2% estimated tree canopy; nearest waterbody ~362 m. Reading: exposed. Source coverage: treed_area, waterbodies. Impervious surface is approximated (Toronto's authoritative layer ships only as a raster GeoTIFF).

Canopy coverage1.2%
Canopy area0.03 ha
Inside ravine system0.0%
Water surface inside park0.0%
Nearest water (if outside park)362 m
Estimated green100.0%
City-mapped trees inside polygon0
Tree density0.0 / ha
Cover diversity (Shannon, 0 to 100)9.4
Sample points used167

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

Enclosure / Eyes on Park

10% weightmeasured 80%
75.6 / 100

57 buildings within 25 m of the park edge (2 mid-rise, 51 low-rise, 4 tower); avg edge height 9.1 m (~3 floors); 8.7 buildings per 100 m of 654 m perimeter (strong frontage density); edges are at a Jacobs-scale walkable mid-rise (3 to 7 floors); 4 towers ≥ 40 m within 25 m of the edge. "Eyes on the park" come strongest from the 2 mid-rise edge buildings.

Buildings within 25 m57
Buildings within 50 m57
Avg edge height9.1 m (~3 floors)
Tallest edge building49.6 m
Mid-rise (3 to 7 floors)2
Low-rise (< 3 floors)51
Towers (≥ 13 floors)4
Frontage density8.71 per 100 m perimeter
Mid-rise share of edge4%
Tower share of edge7%
Blank-edge share (proxy)0%
Park perimeter654 m

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

Border Vacuum Risk

10% weightpartial 60%
36.0 risk

Border-vacuum factors within 50 m of the park: parking_lot, 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 · 2 records)

  • playground
  • sports field

Nearby active-edge features (33)

  • parking lot0 m
  • parking lot18 m
  • parking lot49 m
  • parking lot76 m
  • transit stop: Driftwood Ave at Yorkwoods Gate83 m
  • retail: Grace Food Mart86 m
  • parking lot88 m
  • transit stop: Driftwood Ave at Yorkwoods Gate88 m
  • restaurant: Pho Chay 8891 m
  • transit stop95 m
  • transit stop: Jane St at Eddystone Ave96 m
  • retail: New Style97 m
  • parking lot98 m
  • parking lot100 m
  • restaurant: Island Grill & Pizzeria103 m
  • retail: Cindy Nails107 m
  • restaurant: Devon's Good Food113 m
  • transit stop: Jane St at Eddystone Ave119 m
  • transit stop: Firgrove Crescent122 m
  • retail: Friends Variety & Grocers124 m
  • restaurant: Debe Roti & Doubles130 m
  • parking lot132 m
  • restaurant: Jade East Chinese Food134 m
  • parking lot138 m
  • restaurant: Viet Hoa141 m
  • parking lot144 m
  • retail: Super Clean Coin Laundry148 m
  • parking lot153 m
  • parking lot156 m
  • parking lot162 m
  • parking lot169 m
  • parking lot177 m
  • transit stop: Driftwood Ave at Grandravine Dr191 m

Park profile

Five-axis radar across the structural dimensions.

Edge ActivationConnectivityAmenity DiversityNatural ComfortEnclosureYORKWOODS PUBLIC SCHOOL - Building Grounds
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
    48th
  • Edge activation
    34th
  • Connectivity
    61th
  • Amenity diversity
    72th
  • Natural comfort
    27th
  • Enclosure
    79th

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 YORKWOODS PUBLIC SCHOOL - Building Groundsmatters. 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.
  • Increase canopy and reduce paved area. Shade and water features extend usable hours and seasons.
  • 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

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.