RAISE Grants Announced: U.S. DOT Shifts to a Greener Vision for Transportation

News broke early this morning the U.S. Department of Transportation had announced the first round of funding for the Biden administration's new discretionary grant funding program.

1 minute read

November 19, 2021, 8:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


NYC Subway Construction

New York MTA / Flickr

The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced the first round of funding for the RAISE grant funding program. The grant allocations are available in a pdf document available online, but no press release or fact sheet has been published alongside the document. 

As noted when Planetizen reported on the creation of the RAISE program in April 2021, the new RAISE grants replace the BUILD grant program of the Trump administration, which, in turn, replaced the TIGER grants of the Obama administration. 

Yonah Freemark, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute, quickly this morning Tweeted calculations about how the RAISE grant program compares, so far, to the previous discretionary grant funding program at the U.S. Department of Transportation. According to Freemark's early estimations, the RAISE grant program will fund far fewer road capacity expansion projects and fund far more greenway and complete streets projects than the BUILD program.

"If these RAISE grants are an indication of how the administration plans to distribute funds under the infrastructure bill, they're a good sign: The administration clearly gets it: Prioritize pedestrians, bikes, and transit over roadway expansion," writes Freemark.

Planetizen will update this story as more facts become available.

Friday, November 19, 2021 in U.S. Department Of Transportation

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight