The riots of the 1960s left Cincinnati, like many other cities, facing the problem of “white flight” — working-class whites leaving middle-city neighborhoods as blacks moved in.

        Many cities, and parts of Cincinnati, suffered with deteriorating neighborhoods and further segregation of the races.

        But in 1972, residents of Bond Hill, Kennedy Heights, College Hill and North Avondale formed the Coalition of Neighborhoods to prevent that. So far, it has succeeded in maintaining the healthy, integrated conditions of those communities.

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        The coalition's main battles were against redlining and racial steering, said Jay Jordan, executive director of the coalition.

        Redlining is when banks and other lending institutions refuse to lend to blacks. As a result of blacks' inability to fund the maintainenance and improvements on their properties, businesses in such neighborhoods failed and homes became dilapidated.

        Racial steering — which is illegal — was also a problem, Mr. Jordan said.

        “We had the problem of real-estate brokers steering. When one white family moved out, they went to others and said if they don't sell their property the value would decrease with blacks moving in.”

        The coalition responded by prohibiting for-sale signs on properties and supporting lawsuits alleging discrimination in lending, which were successful.

        Since then, the coalition has added Madisonville and Evanston, Mr. Jordan said, and changed its emphasis to developing programs to strengthen the neighborhoods.

        For example, the coalition developed a Weed and Seed program in Evanston, for which the city received $175,000 in federal money in 1999 and will receive $1 million more within five years.

        “This is a program of law enforcement, community-oriented policing (COP), crime prevention and drug intervention programs and neighborhood restoration,” Mr. Jordan said.

        “When people hear Weed and Seed, they think it is a garden program. This is not about gardening. It is about dealing with real neighborhood issues.”

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