Transit & Infrastructure
We work with communities to strengthen mobility and economic opportunity by supporting local infrastructure funding, delivering hands-on technical assistance that turns promising ideas into actionable, community‑driven projects, and elevating best practices and practical resource guides that provide pathways toward state, federal, and philanthropic dollars. We leverage infrastructure development to create life-changing careers in construction trades and professional services and drive small business procurement opportunities.
Current Initiatives
Thriving Communities
AFA is a Capacity Builder through USDOT’s Thriving Communities Program, having helped 30 communities advance local infrastructure projects and access funding. AFA was selected in 2023 by USDOT along with partners WSP USA, North Carolina A&T State University, and Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners to help 14 communities, and AFA was selected in 2024 in partnership with COMTO and other industry leaders to assist 16 additional communities. AFA brings expertise and resources to help these communities develop and deliver projects that advance economic mobility for historically marginalized communities.
Local Infrastructure Hub
As part of the Local Infrastructure Hub, AFA authored and published more than 20 ‘Transformative Project’ case stories highlighting communities who successfully sought and were awarded federal discretionary funding. The case stories explore federal infrastructure programs, alternative funding models, resilient infrastructure, effective long-range planning, increasing traffic safety, fiber deployment, and more. Although the Local Infrastructure Hub work concluded in March 2026, AFA is proud to preserve these case stories and other valuable assets so communities can continue to learn from the success stories of their peers across the country.
Innovative Infrastructure Initiative (i3)
In partnership with Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners, we launched the Innovative Infrastructure Initiative (i3) cohort in September 2023 to support ten communities’ ambitious infrastructure projects representing 15 million residents and over $2 billion in new investment. Today, AFA continues to work with the i3 communities as they move forward with those transformative projects, ranging from fleet electrification, to multimodal transit hubs to massive mixed-use developments, and more.
Impact Stories

JOHNSON COUNTY, KS
As part of the i3 cohort, AFA and Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP) supported the development and launch of the Johnson County United Airport Drop and Ride, a new circulator bus system in Johnson County, KS designed to connect the county’s major population centers directly with Kansas City International Airport. AFA provided targeted technical guidance, connecting county leaders with procurement, transit, and infrastructure experts to refine fleet planning and financing. This collaboration transformed a complex infrastructure vision into a highly-rated, reliable transit service that moved thousands of visitors seamlessly during the 2026 World Cup.

NASHVILLE, TN
Accelerator for America Action, AFA’s 501(c)(4) sister organization, worked with Mayor Freddie O’Connell, his senior leadership, local business leaders, community stakeholders, and the Choose How You Move campaign from planning through Election Day, helping design public opinion research, community engagement initiatives, and messaging. The winning ballot initiative, a half-cent sales tax, will generate $3.1 billion over 30 years to fund a comprehensive transportation plan. The AFA Action team continues to engage with Nashville on implementation of the Choose How You Move campaign.

TEMPE, AZ
Through the U.S. DOT Thriving Communities program, we supported the City of Tempe and its community partners to put forward two applications for substantial new federal investment to drive equitable outcomes in the Apache Boulevard Corridor. These new funds would support the development of resilience hubs serving neighborhood residents and small business owners and sustainably reconnect communities that had been isolated from neighbors and vital resources by prior transportation projects. We leveraged two of our Local Infrastructure Hub Transformative Project Case Stories highlighting Kalamazoo, MI’s $75 million in blended and braided federal grants as a model to guide Tempe, AZ’s own federal grant goals and connect the Kalamazoo and Tempe teams directly to foster 1:1 peer learning.


AFA’s 501(c)(4) sister organization, Accelerator for America Action, continues the mission that partly catalyzed our founding – providing support to communities considering or pursuing ballot measures for transit, transportation, and infrastructure. We work with communities across the country in advance of the next two election cycles on campaigns that have the potential to generate billions of dollars in new local investment that improves mobility for millions of residents and creates thousands of new, high-quality jobs and careers. Since our founding, Accelerator has helped communities secure $94 billion in new local support for infrastructure investment at the ballot box. Recently, AFA Action has worked with Charlotte-Mecklenburg County, NC; Columbus, OH; Nashville, TN; and Phoenix, AZ on successful measures generating more than $54 billion for new and continued investment in roadway and safety improvements, light rail, and Bus Rapid Transit.
A project of AFA Action, United for Infrastructure is a national nonprofit coalition of business, labor, and public sector leaders committed to advancing infrastructure policy and investment across sectors, from roads and bridges to water, broadband, and energy grids. UFI produces the premier national programming for Infrastructure Week, shaping the national agenda by highlighting critical policy developments and advocating for the robust and sustained investment, a solvent Highway Trust Fund, streamlined permitting, and funding to support a skilled workforce, innovation, and resilience. With the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) set to expire, UFI is mobilizing its coalition to push for a strong surface transportation reauthorization bill and other infrastructure investments that provide long-term funding certainty and keep the nation moving forward.



