Yes. There are urban planter boxes specifically designed to help block street noise, often called acoustic planter boxes, green noise barriers, or planted noise-barrier planters. They are not just ordinary decorative containers. Purpose-built versions combine mass, sound-absorbing materials, and vegetation to reduce traffic noise at street level. A typical design may use a heavy planter wall, dense soil or growing medium, a sound-absorbing core such as mineral wool, perforated cladding, and layered planting. The solid mass blocks and reflects some sound, while leaves, stems, and substrate absorb or scatter higher-frequency noise. Continuous rows work better than isolated boxes because gaps let sound through.
Their effectiveness depends on height, depth, continuity, distance from the traffic, and the sound frequency. A low planter with small shrubs will make only a modest difference. A tall, continuous acoustic planter with dense evergreen plants and a solid or absorptive core can create a measurable local reduction, especially for pedestrians and ground-floor spaces. They are most useful on sidewalks, medians, plazas, residential streets, school edges, outdoor seating areas, and between a road and a building. They can also add green infrastructure benefits such as stormwater retention, cooling, biodiversity, and visual appeal. However, planter boxes are usually less effective than a full engineered noise barrier for high-speed roads or very loud traffic. They must be accessible for maintenance, safe for sightlines, heavy enough to resist wind, and designed with drainage and root space.
If street noise is a serious problem, use acoustic planter boxes as part of a wider strategy with quieter road surfaces, lower speed limits, tree belts, and well-sealed building facades. For the best result, choose purpose-built acoustic planters rather than ordinary pots, place them in unbroken rows, and ask an acoustic specialist to model the site before installation.