App: MetroWage
Hosted on GitHub:
Mission Statement
In the spring of 2024, 45% of Canadian households, with children, reported that rising prices have significantly impacted their ability to afford daily expenses, which is 12% higher than what was reported two years prior [1]. In fact, this issue dissolves from the federal level, to the metropolitan level. According to the Metro Vancouver Regional District, 45% of renters in Metro Vancouver pay more than 30% of their income towards housing, classifying it as unaffordable for nearly half of the renting population [2].
To put the issue of affordability into perspective, our team drew inspiration from Metro Vancouver’s “living wage”, a metric defined as the “the hourly amount that an adult needs to cover basic expenses” for a two-adult, two-child family household [3]. In 2015, the living wage of Metro Vancouver was $20.68 per hour for a family household [4]. However, in 2024, the living wage of Metro Vancouver is now $27.05, increasing by over 30% since 2015 [5]. Living costs of Metro Vancouver increase year by year, with many left worried about being able to afford rising costs. In fact, 1 in 3 workers do not make the hourly living wage of B.C [6]. Thus, we have decided to build an app to help people gain a specified understanding of the costs of living associated with each city in the metropolitan area, and how they compare.
However, the living wage metric of Metro Vancouver overlooks the diversity of household types, nor does it represent the diversity of living expenses across the metropolitan area. Thus, our tool modifies the approach of calculating “living wage”, by expanding beyond the traditional ‘two-adult, two-children’ household model to include six distinct household types, by accounting for the different modalities of transportation that users may prefer to take, and by disaggregating the single metropolitan living wage into tailored representations for each municipality across Metro Vancouver.
Video Presentation
Documentation
Team Members
Ben Schoening: I am currently a student at SFU for the Geographic Information Science major offered by the School of Environment and Computing Science. I decided to pursue GIS because of the technical and real-world implications involved in a representation of an infinitely complex world. My step-father (Jerry Juarez) has inspired me through his precision and accuracy as a Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) to step outside my omfort zone and to pursue this field. I most recently worked in the Mineral Exploration field, where my GIS skills were used for pre-processing of data and spatial analysis. In my free time I compete for SFU as a Student-Athlete in the sports of Track & Field and Cross-Country. As I grow closer to graduating, I hope to combine my Machine Learning and GIS knowledge for upcoming projects and positions.
Gus Schiele: I graduated from Langara with an A.Sc in Computer Science and I'm currently a fourth year student at SFU studying Physical Geography in the Geosystems and Geoscience stream. I enjoy the natural world and volunteering with local Streamkeepers to help maintain local waterways and support pacific salmon conservation. On a nice sunny day, You can find me going out for hikes, backpacking, and fly fishing. When I'm not outdoors, I’m keeping up with the newest web technologies in a rapidly changing digital world.
Vincent Liu: I am currently a fourth-year Geographic Information Science major at SFU. I initially studied Human Geography, with the goal of becoming an urban planner, but later transitioned to GIS due to my long-standing interest in information technology and data analytics. Additionally, I have previously completed a software engineering internship, where I gained hands-on experience with geo-visualization and web-mapping solutions. Looking ahead, I’m excited to continue working in the tech industry, leveraging my GIS background. Outside of academics, I enjoy playing instruments (mainly guitar, bass, and drums), building computers, major at SFU. I initially studied Human Geography, with the goal of becoming an urban planner, but later transitioned to GIS due to my long-standing interest in information technology and data analytics. Additionally, I have previously completed a software engineering internship, where I gained hands-on experience with geo-visualization and web-mapping solutions. Looking ahead, I’m excited to continue working in the tech industry, leveraging my GIS background. Outside of academics, I enjoy playing instruments (mainly guitar, bass, and drums), building computers,and gaming!