Flood Control via the Police Power

Abstract

Increasing attention is currently being given to consideration of human adjustment to floods. In recent years there have been suggestions that flood-prone areas should be regulated through the exercise of the police power. In this Article, Professor Dunham, an authority in the field of property, examines the history of the movement toward flood-plain zoning and sets forth a conceptual frameework by which the consequences of such regulation Maly be judged. He then analyzes the reasons which underlie the movement and the constitutional basis of its reliance on the police power.