Federally overlooked flood risk is strongly associated with the socioeconomic characteristics of neighborhoods. Using data across a range of spatial granularities, we found that flood-prone areas outside of the SFHAs tend to be more socially and financially vulnerable, in ways that are relevant to environmental justice. Specifically, these overlooked neighborhoods tend to be characterized by higher poverty rates, lower property valuations, larger shares of Black and Hispanic households, and lower levels of flood insurance, as compared to SFHAs-designated areas. The presence of federally overlooked risk intersects directly with social vulnerability and equity concerns.

Further research is required to critically assess appraisal practices and evaluate the reliability of their assessments. Despite revisions to requirements, there is evidence that appraisals may still be influenced by historical frameworks rooted in discriminatory policies. Appraisal methods established by the U.S. federal government and the appraisal industry in the last century prioritized racially uniform, White neighborhoods as the most valuable, and positioned White homebuyers as the reference point for neighborhood desirability, potentially still disadvantaging communities of color today (Korver-Glenn, 2021). We do not know the extent to which racial bias affects seemingly objective judgements of building quality and condition, nor in which housing market bias is most pervasive.

The question is then whether the fact that buildings are overlooked and, therefore, less stringently regulated, lead to them being less likely to be insured and sufficiently protected from flood hazards? And, when they flood, is their condition and quality more likely to be degraded than buildings that do fall under flood regulations? Conversely, we might also ask whether higher valued real estate receives greater attention in flood mapping efforts. We cannot conclusively answer these questions using the data that is employed here, but future research could examine whether condition or quality disproportionately worsens in these areas after flood events or could survey residents in these places to ascertain whether these events are consistent with their experience.