City of Boston v. U.S. Department of Transportation

Boston sued the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) after it unlawfully withdrew a $20 million grant for critical infrastructure improvements. The funds were earmarked for a project to improve safety, transit, accessibility, and traffic flow to three major streets in the city’s Roxbury neighborhood. Public Rights Project is serving as co-counsel to the city to support Mayor Michelle Wu’s efforts to protect residents from unlawful federal decisions that strip the city of critical transit safety improvements.

The grant was awarded to Boston in 2022 under the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant program. The DOT withdrew the funding without warning in September 2025 because the project included electric vehicle (EV) chargers. 

Why it matters
The DOT’s politically driven actions exceed the agency’s authority. Congress created the RAISE program to fund environmental sustainability and technological innovation, especially in communities that have been historically left out. 

The project’s targeted area still lives with the effects of past urban renewal land clearance. With little tree coverage, the neighborhood is typically 2 to 5 degrees hotter than Boston’s median temperature. The project would maintain and increase tree coverage to reduce these hot spots and improve air quality. It would also expand infrastructure for bus riders, bicyclists, and pedestrians — supporting safer transportation choices and reducing air pollution.

The lawsuit shows the harm the city has suffered. Boston has spent several years building the capacity needed to manage, design, and construct the program. City transportation department employees spent hundreds of hours working on grant preparations. Even after the city offered to eliminate the EV chargers from the project — which only amounted to .1% of the award — the DOT still refused to proceed with the original grant.

The federal government can’t legally withhold funding based on its own political agenda. If the DOT doesn’t reverse its cancellation of the grant, the project loses 60% of the money needed to move forward, harming tens of thousands of people who live and work in the area. We’re asking the court to order the DOT to reverse this unlawful act. 

Read the lawsuit.