SFU Students Designed and Developed a GeoApp as a Living Wage Calculator
Undergraduate students Ben Schoening, Gus Schiele, and Vincent Liu enrolled in our GIS programs completed a week of activities during the Spring 2025 term developing a GeoApp. This effort was part of the Canada-wide 2025 Esri Canada AppChallenge competition where teams develop mapping and analytical solutions to a focused problem challenge.
The was designed for the Metro Vancouver area and will help individuals understand the cost of living across the metropolitan area by providing detailed location-specific insights. While the common "living wage" metric focuses on a two-adult and two-child household, the MetroWage calculator tool expands this by considering six distinct household types, various transportation options, and breaking down living costs for each municipality given any user income.
The work was completed as part of the activities of the SFU Esri Canada Centre of Excellence (ECCE) in GIS managed within the Geography Department. Through the SFU ECCE, graduate and undergraduate GIS students have the opportunity to collaborate with industry partners and develop professional connections with peers across Canada.
Congratulations Ben, Gus and Vincent on a job well done!