Athletic / Recreation Parkcluster ·Walkable Mid-Rise Neighbourhood Parks (enclosure-leaning)Dufferin Grove (83)confidence moderate

Dufferin Grove Park

Athletic / Recreation Park, one of the city's strongest overall (score 63, rank ~100th percentile). Strongest: amenity diversity; weakest: natural comfort.

Photo by Enerio Rodriguez via Google Places · cached 5/9/2026

Dufferin Grove Park scores 63.4 / 100. Strongest dimensions: enclosure / eyes on park and connectivity. Weakest: amenity diversity (44.3). Border-vacuum risk is low. This score is a transparent reading of Jane Jacobs-style vitality factors, not a definitive judgment.

Best fororganised sportactive recreation

Area · 5.33 ha

Vitality Score

63/100

Weighted across six dimensions · confidence 70%

Data Confidence

63.4 / 100

Citywide

100th

of all 3,273 parks

Among Athletic / Recreation Park

99th

same primary typology

Expected for similar parks

median in Athletic / Recreation Park (n=85)

Performance gap

+22

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…

Street context. Park polygon highlighted on the citywide map. Connectivity, transit, and edge conditions read at a glance.

Dufferin Grove Park, aerial top-down view — **Top-down view.**City of Toronto orthophoto, ~8 cm/px. Reads the park’s footprint, paths, treed area, and edge conditions from above. City of Toronto Orthophoto · cot_ortho most-current MapServer · cached 5/9/2026.

Explain this score

Where did the 63 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

Connectivity82 · p99

+6.3

Border Vacuum Risk12 (risk)

+3.8

Enclosure / Eyes on Park83 · p88

+3.3

Amenity Diversity44 · p100

-1.1

Edge Activation53 · p97

+0.7

Natural Comfort52 · p65

+0.4

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 Grove Park works because its amenity diversity score (44) is one of the city's strongest and its connectivity (82) is also top decile (6 distinct amenity types support different kinds of use).

What limits this park

Dufferin Grove 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 amenity diversity (44, top decile).

Jacobs reading

Dufferin Grove Park is a balanced hybrid: strong urban integration (73) and meaningful natural comfort (63). Rare in the Toronto Park Catalogue.

Tradeoffs

Connectivity (82) significantly outpaces natural comfort (52): well placed in the city but offers little shade or ecological respite.

Performance in context

This park is a strong overperformer for its cohort: raw 63 versus an expected 42 for similar parks (Athletic / Recreation Park) (gap +22).

Typology classification

confidence 75%

Athletic / Recreation Parkalso reads as Neighbourhood Park

Classified as Athletic / Recreation Park: 50% of amenity types are athletic (basketball, skatepark, tennis). Secondary read: Neighbourhood Park (5.3 ha, framed by 34 mid-rise vs 1 towers).

Edge Activation

25% weightpartial 60%

52.9 / 100

Within 100 m of the park edge: 20 active uses (retail, transit_stop, cafe) 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: OSM POIs (amenity/shop) + Toronto Building Footprints + land use

Connectivity

20% weightmeasured 85%

81.7 / 100

Connectivity blends paths, intersections, transit, entrances, and edge density. This park has 25 mapped paths/walkways and 50 sidewalk segments within 50 m; 19 street intersections within 100 m; 27 transit stops within a 400 m walk; 17 estimated access points across ~985 m of perimeter. edge density is healthy, no superblock penalty. Source coverage: centreline, pedestrian_network, transit_osm.

Streets within 25 m17

Intersections within 100 m19

Paths/walkways (50 m)25

Sidewalk segments (50 m)50

Transit stops (400 m)27

Estimated entrances17

Edge connections / 100 m perimeter1.73

Park perimeter985 m

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

Amenity Diversity

20% weightmeasured 75%

44.3 / 100

6 distinct amenity types in the park (basketball, picnic, playground, skatepark, tennis, washroom). 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 60%

52.4 / 100

Natural-comfort components for this park: ~16.8% effective canopy (10.9% from contiguous tree polygons + scattered tree density); 128 city-mapped trees inside the polygon (24.0/ha). Reading: exposed. Source coverage: treed_area, street_trees. Impervious surface is approximated (Toronto's authoritative layer ships only as a raster GeoTIFF).

Canopy coverage10.9%

Canopy area0.58 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 polygon128

Tree density24.0 / ha

Cover diversity (Shannon, 0 to 100)49.5

Sample points used258

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

Enclosure / Eyes on Park

10% weightmeasured 80%

82.9 / 100

141 buildings within 25 m of the park edge (34 mid-rise, 106 low-rise, 1 tower); avg edge height 8.4 m (~3 floors); 14.3 buildings per 100 m of 985 m perimeter (strong frontage density); edges are low-rise (mostly 2 to 3 floors); 1 tower ≥ 40 m within 25 m of the edge. "Eyes on the park" come strongest from the 34 mid-rise edge buildings.

Buildings within 25 m141

Buildings within 50 m141

Avg edge height8.4 m (~3 floors)

Tallest edge building44.9 m

Mid-rise (3 to 7 floors)34

Low-rise (< 3 floors)106

Towers (≥ 13 floors)1

Frontage density14.32 per 100 m perimeter

Mid-rise share of edge24%

Tower share of edge1%

Blank-edge share (proxy)0%

Park perimeter985 m

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

Border Vacuum Risk

10% weightpartial 60%

12.0 risk

Border-vacuum factors within 50 m of the park: 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 (6 types · 6 records)

basketball
picnic
playground
skatepark
tennis
washroom

Nearby active-edge features (80)

transit stop: Dufferin St at Dufferin Park Ave2 m
transit stop: Dufferin St at Sylvan Ave3 m
transit stop: Sylvan Avenue17 m
transit stop: Dufferin Mall22 m
transit stop: Dufferin St at Dufferin Park Ave33 m
retail: Marshalls37 m
parking lot46 m
retail: Urban Customz47 m
parking lot: Dufferin Mall Parking (two levels)54 m
cafe: Big Orange56 m
retail: MobileCare73 m
retail: Portage75 m
retail: Dollarama77 m
retail: Mark's77 m
parking lot: Dufferin Mall Parking77 m
retail: Express Yourself80 m
retail: LinsonQ82 m
retail: Hearing Solutions83 m
retail: Mas Man84 m
retail: Karen's Fine Jewellery87 m
retail: Ardene91 m
retail: INS Market92 m
retail97 m
cafe: Tim Hortons101 m
retail: Eye on Optical108 m
parking lot109 m
retail: Champs114 m
retail: Gap114 m
restaurant: McDonald's114 m
parking lot115 m
restaurant: Mac's Sushi120 m
transit stop: Croatia Street121 m
restaurant: KFC123 m
retail: Shefield Express128 m
retail: Trade Secrets136 m
retail: Batteries N' Gadgets139 m
retail: Miniso140 m
retail: Pandora147 m
retail: April Sweets156 m
retail: Kibo Market156 m
restaurant: Pizza Pizza159 m
restaurant: Villa Madina159 m
restaurant: New York Fries159 m
retail: Foot Locker160 m
restaurant: Subway160 m
retail: Aura Fragrances160 m
retail: Pasito161 m
retail: Journeys161 m
retail: La Senza161 m
retail: Call It Spring161 m
retail: claire's161 m
retail: Soft Moc161 m
retail: Aldo161 m
retail: Tommy Hilfiger161 m
retail: Peoples Jewellers162 m
retail: Stars162 m
retail: Suzy Shier Le Chateau162 m
retail: Best Buy Mobile163 m
restaurant: Shanghai 360163 m
retail: Telus165 m
restaurant: Mr. Pretzels165 m
restaurant: Cinnabon166 m
retail: Michael Hill166 m
retail: Swarovski166 m
retail: Lids168 m
retail: Fido168 m
retail: The Soap Tree168 m
restaurant: Thaï Express169 m
retail: Freedom Mobile169 m
retail: Goodtime Jewellers169 m
parking lot169 m
retail: Casefit169 m
retail: WirelessWave169 m
retail: Face Off169 m
retail: The Brow Boutique169 m
retail: Kalamata169 m
retail: Tbooth Wireless169 m
restaurant: Tanghulu Tanghulu170 m
retail: Tbooth Wireless170 m
retail: Virgin Plus170 m

Park profile

Five-axis radar across the structural dimensions.

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
100th
Edge activation
97th
Connectivity
99th
Amenity diversity
100th
Natural comfort
65th
Enclosure
88th

Most similar parks

Closest in metric space across the five structural dimensions.

Vermont Square ParkCivic Square61
Wells Hill ParkParkette61
Trace Manes ParkAthletic / Recreation Park55
Norwood ParkNeighbourhood Park59
Alexandra ParkNeighbourhood Park55

Most opposite parks

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

Toronto Islands - Muggs Island ParkRavine / Naturalized Park25
Trca Lands ( 26)Ravine / Naturalized Park27
Rouge ParkRavine / Naturalized Park21
Rouge ParkWaterfront Park25
Rouge ParkRavine / Naturalized Park26

Visitor signals

Public attention measured by Google Places aggregates. This proxies attention, not occupancy. Aggregate-only: no usernames, no review text, no extra photos beyond the cached hero.

“Large park with an ice rink & playground, plus basketball, picnic areas & a weekly farmer's market.” (Google editorial summary)

Visitor signal score82 / 100

82.4 / 100

p96 citywide · p98 within Athletic / Recreation Park

Volume (saturated)81

Density / ha80

Rating contribution88

Match dampener×1.00

Average rating

★ 4.5

out of 5

Ratings collected

2,077

total reviews

Photos uploaded

total contributors

Source: Google Places API · match unverified (0.00 composite confidence) · last refreshed 5/9/2026. Privacy contract. Measures public attention, not occupancy.

Human activity signals

Programming, social attention, temporal rhythm, and nearby pedestrian / cycling flow. An experimental aggregate layer that complements the spatial scores. Partial coverage, partial confidence.

sample illustrative dataconfidence 25%

Overall activity64 / 100

64.1 / 100

Programming / events

77sample

Social attention

57sample

Temporal rhythm

65sample

Pedestrian / cycling flow

55sample

Cultural significance

60sample

Activity reading: 80 events/yr (40 recurring); 2,400 public mentions; pedestrian intensity 55/100; cycling/trail 50/100. The strongest signal is programmed civic use. These are illustrative sample values. Calibrate before citing.

Sample data: numbers shown here are an illustrative fixture for the 10 named parks, not a measurement.

Does this score feel accurate?

Your read of Dufferin Grove 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.

What would improve this park?

Generated from the weakest measured dimensions: a starting point, not a prescription.

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: 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.