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<br />zations with known interests in floodplain regulations. A pur- <br />pose of the interviews was to elicit views on community goals, <br />policies, and problems which have the potential to affect flood- <br />plain management. <br /> <br />Current Conditions in the Case Study Areas <br /> <br />Current conditions in the case study areas were similar to <br />assessments of the flood hazards in other urban areas. The <br />100-year floodplain in the case study areas constituted 20 percent <br />of the total land area. The 100-year floodplains were 18 per- <br />cent developed, in contrast to the areas outside those floodplains <br />which were 29 percent developed. This difference suggests that <br />the perception of the flood hazard has had some influence on the <br />development pattern. Perhaps more importantly, it shows the <br />need for preventing further unwise use of the floodplain. <br /> <br />According to data obtained from the case study areas, approxi- <br />mately 14 percent of the case study area population, and 13 percent <br />of housing is in the 100-year floodplain. However, because of <br />the existence of units elevated above grade and multi-story struc- <br />tures, approximately 7 percent of all dwellings and 8 percent <br />of the population are actually at risk from the 100-year flood <br />event. <br /> <br />The floodplains in the study area contain a low percentage <br />of nonwhite population; half the percentage found in nonhazard <br />areas. However, dependent population was nearly 7 percent higher <br />in the floodplain than in the nonhazard area. Household size in <br />the floodplain was 2 percent greater than that of the total study <br />area; household size at risk averaged 5 percent larger. The mean <br /> <br />IJames E. Goddard, An Evaluation of Urban Floodplains, Ameri- <br />can Society of Civil Engineers Technical Memorandum No. 19 (New <br />York: American Society of Civil Engineers, 1973). <br /> <br />-7- <br />